In a tight race, Liberal MP Sam Bulte lost her seat in the House of Parliament to Peggy Nash. You have to wonder how much of an impact the blogosphere had given the big election issue  in her riding - copyright reform and Bulte's tight relationship with the music, film, software and publishing leaders industry - emerged because of work done by bloggers such as Michael Geist. While  voters in other parts of the country focused on health care and the economy, people in Bulte's riding were suddenly questioning the copyright reform process. Of course, Bulte's might have also lost because voters simply wanted change but you can't discount the role bloggers played. One episode that perhaps demonstrated the blogosphere's influence was the focus on Bulte's decision to participate in a $250-a-plate fundraiser organized by music, software, film and publishing leaders. The optics of holding it four days before the election were terrible and it was exacerbated by how bloggers went to town on it. With Bulte now out of work, it will be interesting to see if she follows through on her threat to sue Geist.
For other views on Bulte's defeat, check out Geist, Boing Boing, Accordion Guy and Tech Dirt. The Toronto Star has comments from Bulte and Nash. (Hat tip to Rob Hyndman for doing the early-morning leg work on the links!)