Unclear On The Concept
It must be nice to be a leftyblog in Minnesota.
I say this objectively, without a trace of arrogance intended; the conservative bloggers in Minnesota have the traffic. More than that, they have the mojo, the buzz, the oomph, the mindshare.
And yet, whether through a (belated and inconsistent) desire for balance or via ideological kinship, the local media, academy and others flock to the leftyblogs. To paraphrase Andy Warhol - in the future, every Minnesota leftyblogger who gets fifty visits a day will eventually be a key source on blogging in a Strib story, Almanac episode or local columnist's screed.
Which is not to knock "Trillin" from Minnesota Lefty Liberal; he's distinguished from a lot of local leftybloggers by not being a scatology-obsessed wacko, ergo pretty readable.
But if I've noticed anything about leftybloggers, they're extremely meme-centered. And the biggest meme about Minnesota conservative bloggers is that "we all want to be Powerline.
Let me be succinct: No.
First, check out the dates; I've been blogging longer than Powerline. I was in talk radio in 1986, for that matter; the personality of my inner pundit was formed long before John, Paul and Ringo Scott first decided to stick it to the man.
And, honestly, read Fraters, the Scholars, or for that matter KAR, Jay Reding or First Ring and find the faintest resemblance to Powerline.
And yet the meme just chugs along, as Trillin shows us in his interview with a Louisiana academic:
Here in Minnesota, I find that many of the more conservative blogs are fixated on being the next PowerLine.com. As they are the party in power, they have no basis in dissent, and have instead become figureheads and mouthpieces for the GOP national and local parties.
Two points here. For starters, no - the GOP does
not hold power in the metro, where most of us live. Most of us started our blogs
in order to have a vehicle for dissent. While trying to set us (the conservative bloggers) up as a form of status quo is of a piece with the left's strategy of aligning themselves as perpetual victims, it's misleading to the point of disingenuity in the metro.
And wanting to find some way to stick it to the (lefty) Man in one's dissent doesn't make one a Powerline imitator as much as an heir to the pamphleteering tradition that drives so many of us. As such, they are focused on bringing down the opposition and their candidates to protect that power, and to do so in politics this day, dirt works. Or as those in the media put it, “if it bleeds it leads.”True, in the sense that many cliches are.
Dirt does work. So do facts. And one of the left's most self-serving, destructive memes is the "The memos were fake but accurate, Powerline/Little Green Footballs/whoever are hacks! It's all a daisy chain!".
To get to their end goal, GOP bloggers tend to have a lower threshold for their standards in my opinion.
The interview (read it) is about the standards for "sourcing" in blogs, and Trillin is vamping now. Almost
all bloggers are extremely casual about their sources, left and right. Since few of us do it for a living, we put into it what we get out of it. There are exceptions - Powerline, of course, and
Ed are pretty scrupulous about such things, but then both of them are able to do things on a more nearly full-time basis than most of us, and commensurately get a lot more out of it than most of us do.
So show me a leftyblog that is as punctilious about their chain of evidence as either of them? Before you answer "Yglesias and Marshall", stop a moment; both of them work full-time in wonkery (and that doesn't help the likes of Ollie Willis, Atrios and Kos, who basically blog full time and still are no more than rumor machines. The big conservative bloggers - Powerline, Ed, Charles Johnson, Malkin, pretty much name 'em - all do this as a hobby, and for the sheer love of writing, and they still out-journalist the big leftyblogs in terms of sourcing and, I must add, quality of writing.That is not to say that liberal and left wing blogs don’t do the same. There are many who will cut corners to fully exercise their right to dissent. However as a whole I believe it is a problem much more in the party that has the power then in the one that is offering political dissent.It's an...er...convenient explanation. That's a good word.
Wrong, I think, but convenient.
Discuss amongst yourselves...
Posted by Mitch at
June 11, 2005 09:11 AM
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The political parties are self-selecting to some extent, and liberals who see the world (of ideas) in a top, down context, think that everybody sees the political world that way. They don't. The typical conservative Republican is not looking for any guidence. They just want to treated as an individual and left alone to do what they do. That's why they're Republicans in the first place. There are no top, down instructions. Wild horses don't wait for the command to run. They just run--and often in the same direction.
Posted by: RBMN at June 11, 2005 01:38 PMHi All!
Mitch nails it again. I spent hours twisting myself into knots about Bloggerism vs. Journalism.
Berg shoots the apple off my head -- With a registered pistol. Facing backwards and looking into a cracked mirror. In his sleep.
I won't give up. I am not a Powerline wannabe (power corrupts....) but if I can get the hits up to 100/day I will rest easily.
Posted by: wog at June 11, 2005 01:46 PMAre you comparing conservatives to herd animals?
Apt, but you said it, not me.
Who's the alpha male?
Posted by: Luke Francl at June 11, 2005 03:24 PMLuke,
I'd say the message is the exact opposite. Not to say that nobody wants to be Powerline - just that very few prominent bloggers in Minnesota do.
Speaking of "herd animals", though - I bet if Kos switches from calling conservatives "wingnuts" to, say, "dumplings", every leftyblogger in the world will be ratcheting away "dumpling dumpling dumpling" within 48 hours.
Posted by: mitch at June 11, 2005 06:03 PM> Are you comparing conservatives to herd animals?
Why not? At least wild "herd animals" know that predators are bad news, and don't hesitate to kick them in the head whenever possible, and with no tears shed.
Posted by: RBMN at June 11, 2005 07:44 PMNo intention to be the next Powerline here. I hate pop-up ads. Also law school.
Minnesota aside, one of these days I'm takin' down Bainbridge though. The wine world is only big enough for one of us! And I'm pretty sure I can out drink him.
Posted by: Doug at June 11, 2005 10:06 PMThe next Powerline? Not me. I think that both Marty & I are striving to be the next Shot In The Dark.
I just want to be the one that people also look to for support and when they do not find it they heed the dissent. Some want to be the voice of (insert group). I want to be the voice of intellectual honesty and consistency (and learn to spell in the process).
In order to be the blogger/radio personality I think is right for me I look towards Mitch for blog tone (I have a long way to go), Conservative Princess for insight and Glenn Beck for radio presence.
Who is Power Line? ;)
Posted by: Tony Garcia at June 12, 2005 08:22 AMGah!
So all Minnesota conservative blogs want to be like Powerline?
Whatever. I read Shot in the Dark simply because it isn't Powerline. I avoid Powerline like the plague, ever since I got the damn pop up ad when I loaded them.
I don't mind advertisements, but don't pop up me. Cripes.
Besides, I like your different subjects and your way with words. You and Fraters are my faves.
Please don't ever change your format to mimic Powerline's. That would be such a bummer.
Posted by: Gina at June 12, 2005 10:19 PMMitch:
Just a quick clarification. When I say “the next Powerline” I don’t mean them per-say. More so the concept of breaking a big story, and that leading to national success and millions of readers.
Not sure if that better clarifies it, or if it even makes any difference in the end. But just wanted to take a quick minute and put that in there.
Thanks!!
Trillin
p.s. – thanks for not thinking I am a wacko, my girlfriend and mom will appreciate that
Posted by: Trillin at June 13, 2005 09:09 AMTrillin,
No, I pretty well figured that's what you meant. And it's not like I'd MIND making the kind of money the Powerguys make, with their traffic; I'd love to be able to blog (among other things) fulltime.
But this thing started as my personal screed spot, and if I draw 2,000 visitors a day, that's about 1,996 more than I ever expected. It pays the hosting bill with a few bucks left over, and that's really as good as it needs to get.
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