Michelle Malkin wrote about a Candidate for the Dumbest New York Times Piece Ever (which is saying a lot):
Based on a single “expert” source–”liberal activist Matt Stoller”–Crowley makes
sweeping assertions about the content, nature, effectiveness, and media penetration of partisan blogs. Liberal blogs criticize Democrats more, while conservatives march in lockstep with the GOP leadership to “to provide maximum benefit for their issues and candidates,” the piece asserts.What? Clue-by-four for you, Mr. Crowley: A name that rhymes with Marriet Hyers.
Another dose of reality for the clueless Crowley: Technorati search – Bush + open borders + amnesty.
And another: The fissures in the conservative blogosphere over Terri Schiavo.
And another: Porkbusters.
Anyone who swallows the idea that conservative bloggers are an organized arm of the Republican machine who are easily mobilized at the command of Karl Rove does not read conservative blogs–and should not be paid by the NYTimes or anyone else to write about them.
I’ve been spending some amount of time perusing The Liberal Avenger’s blog, not because he agrees with me, but because he (they) don’t usually agree with me. I’ve also debated capital punishment (usually as a pretty lonely voice) on Patterico’s Pontifications, a mostly conservative lawyer’s blog.
It’s obvious that I can only check out a minute portion of the blogosphere with any frequency at all; that’s why my blogroll is as small as it is. But if Mr. Crowley was going to write about the conservative blogosphere, wouldn’t it have behooved him to actually read some conservative sites?
I have noted previously that:
I’m guessing that it will not surprise you that there are a lot of conservatives who believe that liberals are simply unthinking partisans as well. “How could they have any brains if they believe the crap that they do?†is a familiar refrain, and it can be heard, in various permutations but with identical meanings from both sides of the political aisle.
It becomes too easy to dismiss our political and philosophical adversaries when we stereotype them, when we simply decide that they are all idiots to believe the things they do. Mrs. Malkin must have at least read Mr. Crowley’s short article in the Times, to have commented on it; it seems that is more than Mr. Crowley did concerning the subject on which he wrote.
Note that as of an hour ago Michelle and Jesse Malkins’ post had 13 trackbacks from conservative blogs that picked up and are rebroadcasting the story.
The article says that conservative blogs are useful for spreading conservative ideas.
The Malkins say that the article is “stupid.”
That idea is picked up and reproduced throughout the conservative blogosphere.
Also, I know Stoller irl and he’s as much of an expert on the blogosphere as anyone. He is truly one of the political blogosphere’s father figures.