Right Cross

The Washington Post has launched a conservative blog called Red America by Ben Domenech, described by David Brock of the watchdogging Media Matters as

first and foremost a partisan activist -- a Republican operative who has worked for the Bush administration and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), is currently an editor at a conservative publishing house, and who describes himself as "the youngest political appointee of President George W. Bush." He is also a co-founder of RedState.org, which describes itself in nakedly partisan terms -- "a Republican community weblog. RedState is focused on politics, and is dedicated to the construction of a Republican majority in the United States."

The left/progressive blogosphere has gone kookoobananas over this.

It immediately set off what Post political reporter Tom Edsall called a "firestorm" in his online chat today.

Sample flames here and here and here. (Be sure to read that last one!)

Anyway, all this left-right stuff is starting to bore me. Reminds me of being a Girl Guide and marching in the Greek parades (Warning: Stay off the Danforth this Sunday if you're trying to go crosstown.)

Besides, I think Chris Bowers has something: There is no right-wing blogosphere any more.

Most major right-wing bloggers have now been incorporated into the established news media apparatus. Glenn Reynolds is a columnist for MSNBC. Andrew Sullivan is a columnist for Time. Michelle Malkin is a frequently published columnist in a number of offline outlets. And now, RedState co-founder Ben Domenech has a regular column in the Washington Post. Despite being the latest in a long line of conservative bloggers to achieve "mainstream" status with the established news media, his first column was, predictably, an attack on the same institutions that just hired him and gave him space.

In short, there is almost nothing in the way of an independent right-wing blogosphere operating outside of existing, established news media outlets. The days of the rise of Free Republic have long passed. The right-wing is not building new institutions online anymore.

In the U.S. at least, the right has gone mainstream.

I have a sneaking suspicion we may see some of that happen here.

Comments

[Bill-Muskoka]

Oh, that is so hilarious. Look at the pic of Ben Domenach! There was a day, not too long ago actually when calling anything America 'Red' would have caused a missle launch! He is, obviously, too young to remember those days!

Now, they are promoting it as True American! Was there some closed door, smoke filled room deal struck between Reagan and Gorby back in 1990?

I can hear it now:

Reagan: "Gorby, listen, we have got to stop wasting all our nation's economy on this insane pissing contest!"

Gorby: "You are quite correct! What is your proposal?"

Reagan: 'Okay, here's the deal. We will give you capitalism, allow your mafia to come share in our western wealth, porn market, and drug trade. You give up the right to use the colour red because, well, er., I think its really hot and have some plans to use it!"

Gorby: "Deal Comrade!"

Maybe this is a misprint " Red America is like a splinter under the middle finger of liberalism", and should have read " Red America is like a sphincter around the middle finger of liberalism"

[PhantomObserver]

And this is a bad thing ... why?

[Jay Currie]

I liked Chris's spin (and I think him one of the smartest people in the blogosphere). Essentially he is arguing that "the blogs" are now a world dominated by the no-hoper Kossacks and the ever optimistic lefty, way lefty, Dems at My DD. And, from the Democratic Party's perspective that is about right. Any wannabee Prez running for the Dems will have to somehow satisfy "the base" or the "netroots". This can be done by muttering inanities about Iraq or "No Blood for Oil" or showing up at an ANSWER rally.

Unfortunately, the instant a mildly serious Democratic Party candidate does this he or she is going to be crucified by the ever more mainstream righty bloggers (who have not quite disappeared altogether).

Hmmmm.

Bit of a problem there. Keeping the Mooreites onside - all 20 million of the largely non-voting gang - costs any Dem candidate huge credibility. A fact which is not entirely lost on the Karl Roves of this world.

But Chris has a point: when people, usually dispairingly, talk about "the blogs" they are usually Democrats with their feet to a particular sort of lefty fire.

Given that the more professional Democrats would like to a) win the upcoming Congressional elections, b) retake the Presidency the emergence of the all whine, all the time, lefty blogosphere is, at best, a mixed blessing.

[arthurdecco]

You seem to have confused "whining" with "outrage", Mr. Currie. It's not "whining" when progressive people refuse to roll over and shut up in the face of the continual assaults on good governance, enlightened social policy or responsible and ethical foreign policy that emanate from the hard right end of our political spectrum. To claim otherwise is to destroy any shred of credibility you may once have had with reasonable people.

Reasonable people can (usually) tell the difference between exhausted and discredited talking points (such as this one of yours) and honest and legitimate outrage. To label progressives as “whiners” while ignoring the continual “woe is me - it's all lefty’s fault” complaints about almost everything from the right is patently dishonest.

No, I'm afraid most of the "whining" I see on my daily forays into blogdom are initiated by the right - not the left – and by the dim - not the bright - by bullies - not the courageous - by the immoral - not the moral - by the deluded - not the rational - and sadly, most of these negative traits seem to be shared by the vast majority who post in defense of modern conservatism, (which has little to do with either "modern" or "conservatism" in my opinion).

It seems to me you’re just moving with the flow - refusing to grow - not allowing any contradictory evidence to enter your intellectual prison when you make statements like that, Mr. Currie.

I have to ask: How is it possible to keep track of the leaps of logic that seem so much part and parcel of this putsch to the right you gleeful supporters refuse to shut up about? Don't you find your positions (such as this one) confining? ...and often contradictory? ...and confusing?

I know I do.

[Elvid]

Hasn't the right been the mainstream in the United States since
1968 when the Democrat party commited some kind of suicide.
Republican president fof 26 of the past 26 years, long term Republican control of both the House and Senate and now a conservative majority on the Supreme court.

[Bill-Muskoka]

Elvid,

Perhaps you might want to check that date of 1968? Remember a couple of guys named Carter and Clinton? a little less than 26 years, eh.

1968 was good old LBJ saying 'hasta la vista Baby!'

[Jay Currie]

Arthur, if your prose was a tad more coherent I might suggest you leave the ad hominum at home; but I am not at all sure that you are making an ad hominum attack.

If you want to subsitute "outrage" for "whine" - as in "militant" for "terrorist" - be my guest. The edit would then read:

"the emergence of the all outrage, all the time, lefty blogosphere is, at best, a mixed blessing."

You know, I rather prefer your version.

[arthurdecco]

Mr. Currie, Thank you for finally providing me with a rationale that could explain your political ideology after weeks of me pleading unsuccessfully with you for just that.

Of course you didn't mean to give me an explanation.

It spilled out accidentally, inferred by your statement "...if your prose was a tad more coherent..."

All this time it's been the fact that you have difficulty digesting and understanding plain-spoken English that's been colouring your opinions!

I'm glad it isn't something more serious. This you can fix.

ps (& I think I'd like a second opinion on the coherence of my prose, if you don't mind. No offense. lol)

[Antonia]

Yo! This ain't the Remedial English Forum, okay? Stay on topic please or I'll make you guys write "I won't bug Antonia'' 1000 times on the blackboard.

[Robert McClelland]

It looks like the Post's new redstate blogger has a little plagiarism problem.
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_03_19_atrios_archive.html#114315207785058384
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_03_19_atrios_archive.html#114315309309171206
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2006_03_19_atrios_archive.html#114315452294404865

[Antonia]

Those would be firing offences ... if he made them at the Post. But he hasn't. So it's kind of murky. Still pretty juicy though.

[Robert McClelland]

Okay, then how about plagiarizing the Washington Post before he started working there? Think they'll be happy about that?
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/3/23/181857/404/167#c167
This keeps getting better and better.

[Robert McClelland]

Goodbye Ben. Make sure the door doesn't hit your butt on the way out.
http://liberalcatnip.blogspot.com/2006/03/ben-domenech-resigns.html

[Sylvia]

I’m seeing more and more people get sucked into playing the Partisan Politics Game. The latest player is the Washington Post. What is the purpose of hiring their latest blogger? It’s my opinion the reason he was selected was to sell newspapers. The man they showed preference for is not an intellectual; he’s not even a particularly good reporter. What he is good at is raising the tone of discussion to participants calling each other names, using language that is structured away from civility. This is not a mistake on the part of this newspaper; it's an attempt to increase circulation. What they are abandoning is their credibility in favour of popularity. They have made a modest venture into the realm of sensationalized news.

Not many people read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism yellow journalism because of its bias.

http://alt.tnt.tv/movies/tntoriginals/roughriders/jour.publishwar.html"
The Big Type War of the Yellow Kids." Hearst wasn’t successful at the game he pitted himself against with Pulitzer, but now is a different era dominated by more sharply divided people.

The Bush administration is a master of divisiveness. Right wing punditry is now a very popular pastime. Just don’t get sucked into thinking it has anything to do with truth, objectivity and a source of news.

Canada too is in danger of having their news distorted. We have elected a Prime Minister that is seeking to affiliate himself with sources that aren’t reliable.

One way to distinguish professional journalism from yellow journalism, is the latter paint with a broad brush using only black and white. The former uses a finer, detail brush that uses millions of shades of gray.

-----

Oops, looks like the Washington Post has reconsidered their decision—Domenech has resigned because of http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washpostblog/2006/03/ben_domenech_resigns.html plagerism. Even they won’t stoop so low as to hire a counterfeit pundit.

Whose next on the list of pundits they will hire? Or perhaps they decided losing all of the trustworthiness their readership had placed in them isn't worth the sacrifice. Or they just need a sneakier way to play the Partisan Politics Game.

[Bill-Muskoka]

Sylvia,

"What he is good at is raising the tone of discussion to participants calling each other names, using language that is structured away from civility."

Sounds exactly like Bill O'Reilly, and the rest of the gabfest politcal talk show hosts. Programs like 'Crossfire' come to mind.

Jon Stewart says more real news with his satire than the lot of them put together. LOL

[Sylvia]

Thank goodness there are no equals to them in Canada. When we go to the States, the first thing we do is tune the radio to FM.

I very seldom read anything from CanWest--hugely biased. Ditto Conrad Black's version of the news. LOL

----

Could you tell me how to use html at this site...I've tried enlosing html in both square and angled brackets?

When I use angled brackets, the software here stops the links from showing up, square brackets results in my html showing.

[canuck]

Did he fold up his tent and go quietly in the night after his resignation, "No he did not!"

Restate replies to the charge of plagerism:

http://redstate.org/print/2006/3/24/151255/259

Quote for redstate link: "This is a shame. As you all know, I am a conservative, but not a partisan – I believe had this blog been allowed to continue, it would have been a significant addition to the Post's site. The Post showed bravery by including a conservative voice, and I hope they continue to seek that balance."

---

His reply that the editors of the Washington Post are fools, means he hasn’t holstered his extreme rhetoric.

I do know some of the leftist more activists blogs are as excessive as conservative blogs, and it seems one or two of them went for his throat. I’m not a member of them either and never will be.

A reply to Ben Domenech farewell address from the left that strikes the right tone:

http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/online_media/separated_at_birth_ben_domenech_and_judy_34361.asp

----

I don't wish anyone ill, what the left blogosphere did was equally wrong. His career may very well be over ... I really have no harsh opinions to express on whether he brought it on himself...that is for others to judge. It does seem he had no reluctance to judge others? Do you get in life what you sow? Perhaps?

[Sylvia]

Latest is an apology from Ben:

"Contrition
By: Augustine

I want to apologize to National Review Online, my friends and colleagues here at RedState, and to any others that have been affected over the past few days. I also want to apologize to my previous editors and writers whose work I used inappropriately and without attribution. There is no excuse for this - nor is there an excuse for any obfuscation in my earlier statement.

I hope that nothing I've done as a teenager or in my professional life will reflect badly on the movement and principles I believe in.

I'm deeply grateful for the love and encouragment of all those around me. And although I may not deserve such support, it makes it that much more humbling at a time like this. I'm a young man, and I hope that in time that I can earn a measure of the respect that you have given me.

Regards,

Ben
Mar 24th, 2006: 23:15:59"

http://www.redstate.com/story/2006/3/24/231559/931

-----

What’s important is that he has acknowledged 'some' of his misdeeds and has apologized. It’s a good start and a place for the rhetoric to be toned down. The graceful thing is just to accept it, watch to see if he repeats intellectual theft. People who commit such acts need to be on guard that they don’t reoffend. It’s watch and don’t jump to conclusions time.

---

The Washington Post made a dreadful error by hiring him. Where is their apology to its readership? All I see from them is Brady’s statement, “"We still want someone who's provocative."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/03/24/brady/

Newspapers (CanWest), that hire reporters, editors and others based on anything other than education, experience in the field, and/or writing skills are pandering to populists or some other ‘unspecified’ ideology.

[Bill-Muskoka]

Maybe Minnesota has the 'right' idea, eh?

Here is the ideal website for those loving PC spin.

www.sandingoffthetruth.com

'Sanding Off The Truth!'

Now, there is a term I have not heard before, but it is so perfect as to deserve recogniion and some sort of televised award

Thanks to CNN for that one!

http://us.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/24/gay.marriage.tape.ap/index.html