We mess up the narrative.

[mmonk]

Howard Dean was the first to really take advantage of the netroots. Since then, the netroots have been able to raise money for progressive challengers, generate campaigns for or against something through email, faxes, phone calls, etc. and push issues forward the mainstream will not. Much of the time, the narratives pushed by politicians do not mesh but are the themes the they would like the public to believe in. To counter this, many establishment pols feel compelled to attack these populist sources as illegitimate or extreme by dismissal of the concerns that motivate the actions as unreasonable. There is no challenge in the mainstream media and the narratives presented. It is easier to control.