Tough times?

That is essentially the gist of this post over at SITD.

"It’s been a hard year for a lot of conservative activists - including bloggers.Remember, especially in Minnesota, the GOP relies on volunteers to do most of its grunt-level organizing, sign-posting, call-banking and door-knocking - the stuff for which the DFL pays a small army of “activists”.
And each and every campaign in recent memory - 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 - has been a “Make Or Break” campaign for the Minnesota GOP; in each election, Minnesota flirted with purplehood; Minnesota’s legacy as a big-L “liberal” state hung in the balance, and held on by a thread.For Minnesota’s conservative volunteers, for four straight election cycles, it was “just one more big push”.
And they delivered; they turned out in droves; they worked countless hours; like the patriots that won this country’s independence, they devoted hours and weeks of their lived for the pure love of the cause; the Democrats’ paid help, like a horde of Hessians, showed up because that’s where the money was. "

That is true. I first got involved in campaigning it was the 2000 election and we were told then that it was "make or break" and I have heard the same thing for the last 6 years and will probably hear it again in 2008.

"It’s similar among bloggers. The “Class of ‘04” - the surge of center-right blogs and writers that kicked off during the ‘04 campaign - was, and remains, the most dynamic group of political bloggers in the US. But you could feel a collective fatigue, in some ways, after the ‘06 elections."

I officially joined the MOB in the class of 2006 and there are days when I feel the fatigue...granted when you are juggling jobs and kids and volunteer activities...

"Many of the ‘04 blogs went dormant; some of the bloggers flamed out (although the MOB’s attrition is lower, I suspect, than for just about any other group of 100-odd blogs you can find); others, tired of having to churn stuff out every day, dropped their own blogs to join one the big superblogs (Freedom Dogs, Anti-Strib, TvM) that are positioned to be so very important in this next go-round."

HEY NOW MR. BERG....I did not abandon anything....I just added one more thing to my already full plate. Actually my contributions to Anti-Strib are weekly at best - just enough to keep the benevolent dictator off of my back...and get the odd invite to parties at the Manse!

"But that’s going to have to change. There’s a new election season coming up, and it’s going to be huge - even without the Republican National Convention and the hordes of mischievous pranksters following it to Saint Paul next September. It’s going to be a donnybrook, on the state and federal levels, here in Minnesota. The Presidential context will once again have Minnesota teetering on the brink of Red and Blue, and our ten electoral votes are mighty tempting to both parties. The Senate race will be the dirtiest in Minnesota history, and the ACORN volunteers will be floating down our streets on waves of George Soros’ money. "

Here Mitch has a point. Things will need to change. The dis-spirited base will need an energy boost....they need a reason to believe and to get re-involved. But where is that boost going to come from?????

Will anyone step up to fill the void? I suspect, knowing this group, someone will....