Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, was shaken by the speed and volume of the response as word of his bill traveled across the country via the Internet.
"I’ve never been blogged before," he said. "The tone of the e-mails has been disgusting. It’s,'You’re a horrible person. You ought to be crucified.' And those were the nice ones."
Information about Cosgrove’s bill was first posted on a Virginia Web site, http://democracyforvirginia.typepad.com. Maura Keaney, a Falls Church woman and former volunteer for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, uses the site to monitor state government and political issues.
Keaney said Monday her site had received about 70,000 hits in the previous 24 hours, and that information about the bill was picked up by more than 100 blogs, including Web sites for women who have suffered miscarriages...
I'm not sure if this bill had a chance, even in Virginia, but score one for the bloggers. It's an illustration of the blogosphere playing to its strengths: publicizing items that the commercial media may bypass. Not Trent Lott's head on a platter - but maybe more important on a real-life level.
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