Blue Hampshire: 'cyber equivalent of the old Puritan Restaurant '

Using an open format that allows almost anyone to post comments, the website Blue Hampshire has become a daily read for Granite State Democrats.

Founded in November 2006 by bloggers Mike Caulfield, Laura Clawson and Dean Barker the site now has 1,300 registered users and receives almost 5,000 page views per day.

According to Barker the site was founded because he and two other bloggers wanted to create a community where they could all write and share comments.

“We three each had run separate blogs over the previous summer and fall covering the 2nd district congressional race between Paul Hodes and Charlie Bass, and we were looking for a bigger space where we could not only write our own pieces but also build a community of progressive voices in-state,” said Barker.

What initially started has an opportunity for the blogging-trio to write about politics, is now a site where prominent New Hampshire Democrats post comments and diary entries.

Calling Blue Hampshire “cyber equivalent of the old Puritan Restaurant in downtown Manchester,” former Democratic Chairwoman Katy Sullivan said she uses the site because “it is a way to post my perspective on candidates and politics, which hopefully is a different and useful perspective.”

Sullivan is not the only well-known Democrat to post on the site. Visitors can often see comments from Portsmouth State Representative Jim Splaine and Democratic Chairman Ray Buckley. Over the past year, former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand, former Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd have all used the site to get their message.

The influence of Blue Hampshire is not lost on the Democratic establishment.

“A group of under 1000 people make up the core of the Democratic party in New Hampshire - the elected officials, town chairs, and key activists. Opinions are strongly shaped by this group. I believe that a large number of this dynamic group do go to Blue Hampshire regularly - even if they rarely, if ever, post,” explained Marchand.

Barker admits one factor influencing Blue Hampshire’s popularity is that the site operates in a state with a rich political culture.

“Of course it also helps that our tiny little state hosts the first in the nation primary, as well as having one of the marquee Senate races this cycle with John E. Sununu's re-election bid,” Barker said.

Steve Levenback, from George Washington’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet said “Blue Hampshire is important for two reasons. First, as the Netroots continues its ascendancy in the Democratic Party, sites like Blue Hampshire become increasingly vital. Second, because of its early primary, New Hampshire is a state where political activism, and the Netroots in particular, can have a significant and direct impact on the direction of the party.”

Unlike other political websites, Blue Hampshire does not appear to be fading away anytime soon. The site is now cross-posting on Newsweek’s blog, The Ruckus, and occasionally contributes pieces to The Huffington Post’s Off The Bus.