Markos Unbound: Clinton's Made Real Progress

CHICAGO -- In a briefing with the press late Thursday, Markos Moutlisas Zuniga offered some unvarnished thoughts:

## He said the Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Dodd campaigns "have been very effective" in how they use blogging technology. He said Clinton has made genuine progress in reaching out to bloggers and showing that she's willing to work for their causes. "It's a sign of respect," he said. Respect that "her inner circle" didn't have for the netroots "a year ago." Dodd "has kind of been in the Senate for the last 2,000 years. It's kind of tough for those of us who have been railing against Washington .... to look at a guy who was there and ostensibly part of the problem. Dodd is a great guy and a great senator, but ... our real focus is on people who are on the outside and are changing things."

## Had high praise for the National Review group blog, the Corner, and said he reads it regularly. He called it "compelling reading." But he said most conservative bloggers want to be "pundits" more than activists.

## He got in some digs at the Democratic Leadership Council, which he called "corporatist," and not centrist.

## He acknowledged that blogging has been "institutionalized" and cited the YearlyKos conference as an example of that.

## He vowed to rid the Democratic Party of its corrupt members, starting from Congress on down.

## He said the "most exciting development in our medium" is the rise of the local blogosphere with its focus on state and local races.