Know Them By Their Words
By Mitch Berg
I went through a phase a few years back where I read leftyblogs with an eye partly turned to criticism, and partly to ridicule; there was plenty of grist for both mills.
And then I gave it up. The vast majority of leftyblogs, with precious few exceptions – even among the big ones – were puerile, sophomoric, pointless…just plain dumb. I found that if I wanted, for whatever reason, a leftyblogger’s perspective, I was better off going with one of the less-stupid, less-insane locals, like Powerliberal or Flash or even the New Patriot Collective For Make Better Distribution of Information for Glorious DFL. We have knocked heads for years – but they, along with many (albeit not all) local leftybloggers do a much better product than the deranged Kos, the Peter-Principled Atrios, the dumb Ollie Willis, and the angry-funny-without-the-funny Jesus General.
And especially Pandagon. Although they had the occasional reason to exist when giggly fratboys Ezra “John” Klein and Jesse “Ringo” Taylor ran the show, once the blog turned into a collective, it became essentially a “Kos” wannabee; all of the heat, less of whatever pittance of light “Kos” emits.
One of the band of intellectual midgets that inherited Pandagon from Taylor and Klein was Amanda Marcotte, a fatuous screechblogger with a record of giggly bigotry and purple-faced religious hatred who was recently hired as the Edwards campaign’s official blogger.
Leftybloggers are closing ranks around their own:
I suspect that they are trying to tear her down because they are justifiably afraid that she will excel at her new job.
Um, no. Actually, I hope every liberal candidate hires a screechblogger; they will provide us a treasure trove of material for the next couple of years (or until they get fired for embarassing their bosses, which would seem likely, sooner than later, in Marcotte’s case).
How likely? This bit here is making the rounds:
One thing I vow here and now–you motherf**kers who want to ban birth control will never sleep. I will f**k without making children day in and out and you will know it and you won’t be able to stop it.
At the considerable risk of sounding catty, I don’t think I’m going to be needing to “stop” anything.
But I digress:
Toss and turn, you mean, jealous motherf**kers. I’m not going to be “punished” with babies. Which makes all your efforts a failure. Some non-procreating women escaped. So give up now. You’ll never catch all of us. Give up now.
It’s not that I want to “catch” anyone, least of all Ms. Marcotte. Enjoy your life, whatever it may be, by all means! It’s just that I’m thinking John Edwards isn’t going to be picking up a whole lot of red-state action with that kind of vibe going out on his frequency.
Leftybloggers – some of them – have a curious sense of what’s really important.
Along with disparaging her on the most ridiculously inane grounds (E.g. “She uses profanity! Holy f**king s**t!”)…
I’ve noticed that from quite a few leftybloggers, big and small, find profanity to be a symbol of accomplishment; with some, the attitude seems “Woo hoo! Let’s see you godbags keep up with this profanity game, m****r******g d****e**g s*****ni-eating s****s!”, as if fluency with profanity is a sign of…anything? I remember one fairly vacuous former local leftyblogger, writing about an even more vacuous local leftyblogger; “he might drive the wingnuts crazy with the swears!”. Welcome to fourth grade!
I’ve lived around Chicagoans long enough to say with absolute assurance; I can swear more fluently than any leftyblogger (who’s not from Chicago and also brain-dead). I don’t take especial pride in it; profanity merely substitutes shock for thought. Which, with some people, is the only rhetorical tool in the belt.
Including, according to everything I’ve seen, Amanda Marcotte.
February 7th, 2007 at 9:49 am
While you and your buddies cluck cluck like little old ladies about bad language – I’ll be whooping it up with sailor-mouthed PJ O’Rourke at the bar.
I find it fascinating too that you think swearing is a “leftyblogger” trait. It’s just flat out not the case that it’s only leftybloggers who swear like that. It’s just that you find it more offensive because of their political views.
I’m no fan of this Amanda person – or John Edwards – or the “left” or any of that. I’m no fan of bloggers who go ballistic over politics in any partisan way – I think you’re all missing the point, as far as I’m concerned. So I’m not defending her. She looks like a terrible writer to me. Whatever.
What concerns me is the prudery of the Republican party now. But it’s prudery about STUPID things like swearing. I mean, what a waste of f***ing time.
So like I said. If you need me, I’ll be getting wasted at the bar with PJ O’Rourke, as we compete over who can tell the most filthy limerick.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Uh, Sheila, did you even read the post? Mitch isn’t speaking AGAINST profanity; if you’ll notice, he even admits to being quite the foul-mouthed being in his own right. What Mitch is noting is a lot of leftybloggers use profanity in their writing because they think it’s somehow hip and exciting, as if they’re somehow pushing the boundaries in some new and crazy cool way.
That’s not to say profanity is the sole realm of the leftybloggers. I hold myself up as a pre-emminent spewer of all things profane on my ThunderJournal, and I’m somewhat right of center.
Fuck.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Now, Sheila, I think you got the wrong guy!
I’m far – FAR – from a prude. I just figure if I want to make a point with someone, I make it a lot better in regular English. Part of it, by the way, is that I literally grew up in radio. I do watch what I say more than most, probably because of that. That, and Dad being an English teacher. It’s less “prudery” than habit.
And while swearing is not purely a leftyblogger trait, I’ll stand by my observation that it’s something more of “them” take as a point of pride or an element of style.
As to your point about the prudery of Republicans – I agree, to a point. Not about language, so much – but there’s a stereotype that Republicans are hinky about art, sex, the right half of the brain, things that aren’t by nature fairly black and white.
I’ll be happy to meet you and PJ at the bar for limericks. You lived in Chicago, so you’ll have a lead on me, but I’ll give you a workout ;-). And while I may lose the “Filthy Limerick” contest, I do have the world’s grossest joke as a counterattack.
No. I mean THE world’s. Grossest. Joke.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:47 am
he even admits to being quite the foul-mouthed being in his own right.
I don’t believe in reincarnation – but if I did, I’d think I used to be an NYC cabbie.
I hold myself up as a pre-emminent spewer of all things profane on my ThunderJournal, and I’m somewhat right of center.
I’ll vouch for that!
February 7th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I suspect its an unfortunate elitist trait, but in general, if someone swears without some measure of creativity, I usually find myself thinking less of their intelligence. Especially if it is simply a matter of replacing every third word with “fuck/fucked/fucking/fucker”. I will grant that it is certainly a versatile word.
Unfortunately, I often swear without any measure of creativity whatsoever. I attribute it to my own lack of wit. (I’m bright but not particularly witty)
February 7th, 2007 at 11:36 am
It is indeed a versatile word. I can be used for every part of speech. “F, the F-ing F-er’s F-ing F’ed!”.
Not sure it’s elitist; just the way I was raised, I guess.
Going to college with as many Chicago natives as I did, I also grew to appreciate the creativity and gusto with which people from that city approach cursing. Swearing is to Chicago what wine is to Bordeaux, fashion is to Milan, and New York is to theatre.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
People judge you by the words you use. It may not be an indicator of intelligence, but it certainly is for character.
Dammit.
February 7th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Swearing, when used sparingly and creatively can be quite effective. But it’s a fine line and way too many people, including myself, use profanity out of laziness. It’s easier to use profane language than it is to come up with orginal prose.
It’s always easier to call someone an “ass” than it is to note that they resemble the southern end of a border skipping Chihuahua leaving a burito eating contest.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
“”if I wanted, for whatever reason, a leftyblogger’s perspective, I was better off going with one of the less-stupid, less-insane locals, like Powerliberal or Flash or even the New Patriot”
To be clear, I am still Stupid and Insane, just less so than others you compare me too, correct?
What makes one NOT stupid or insane, agreeing with your ideology unconditionally, or does it actually require a display of intelligence and sanity. Just curious.
Flash
Centrisity.com
February 7th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Flash:
To be clear, I am still Stupid and Insane, just less so than others you compare me too, correct?
A bit of a strawman, there, Flash.
My parents are both firmly left of center.
What makes one NOT stupid or insane, agreeing with your ideology unconditionally, or does it actually require a display of intelligence and sanity. Just curious.
Complete agreement with my ideology is the frosting on the cake. And most of the cake itself, for that matter. But intelligence and sanity are a good start.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
It’s always easier to call someone an “ass” than it is to note that they resemble the southern end of a border skipping Chihuahua leaving a burito eating contest.
But don’t go overboard and James Joyce your writing, or you’ll end up spending 17 years writing your own “Finnegan’s Wake” that millions of college english students will curse your name for.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Complete agreement with my ideology is the frosting on the cake. And most of the cake itself, for that matter. But intelligence and sanity are a good start.
Would they be something along the lines of the doily that the plate holding the cake sits on then?
February 7th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Oh, let’s shoot for “the plate”. what the heck.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Although Angryclown is nothing if not a gentleman, he will put aside your caddish denigration of the physical attributes of Amanda Marcotte – of whom Angryclown knew nothing before reading this thread – to address the underlying question: Is she hot?
Once again, Angryclown finds the information posted your blog to be wildly unreliable. Here is a rather more fetching image of Ms. Marcotte, which evidences that she could, if she chose to, “f**k without making children day in and out.”
http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/june2006/IMAGES/amandaMarcotte.jpg
More to the point, in my research, I have discovered that Ms. Marcotte is an 1) opinionated 2) red-tressed 3) Texan, a type for which I have reason to suspect you have a fatal weakness. Angryclown will go no further, in this forum, in explication of this particular theory. Suffice to say that the wingnut doth protest too much, Angryclown thinks.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
GAH! Do not click Angryclown’s link! You’ve been warned!
She looks like 40 miles of bad road in a red sweater.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Enh. Digging on peoples’ looks isn’t really my speed. Like so many people, Ms. Marcotte’s appearance probably varies entirely based on circumstances.
No, given her output at Pandagon, I think there’s enough ugly on the inside to make anything outside irrelevant.
Clown: Has anyone seen Ms. Marcotte and our mutual redheaded Maoist friend on the Gulf Coast in the same room?
February 7th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
But, if I can’t dig on people’s looks. . . I have nothing left to live for.
Except pizza. Pizza’s good.
February 7th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Mitch demurred: “Digging on peoples’ looks isn’t really my speed.”
You as much as said Amanda Marcotte couldn’t give it away to sailors.
As for our Gulf Coast friend, she remains delightfully sassy, bedpan and enema bag ever at the ready.
February 8th, 2007 at 6:40 am
you’d nearly have to like someone,
I like plenty of people. Some of them liberals.
you did rip on her looks Mitch.
I think she’ll survive. After all, she’s “f**king day and night”; she’s too busy to care what lil’ ol’ me thinks.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:11 am
An entire week of the fuck ‘s in Atrios’ posts (and the comments) do not have as much force as the single use of an expletive in this post by Tom Smith of the Right Coast:
http://therightcoast.blogspot.com/2006/02/what-wapo-liberals-dont-get-by-tom.html
February 8th, 2007 at 11:45 am
“An entire week of the fuck ’s in Atrios’ posts (and the comments) do not have as much force as the single use of an expletive in this post by Tom Smith of the Right Coast:”
And that is the subtle little point that a lot of lefty bloggers miss. Heck I will even admit that I missed that subtle little point when I was in college. However, I did manage to eventually find it!
They think that every time they use the “F” bomb that they are “shocking” but after the first hundred uses of the word, people tend to ignore it and it loses it’s edge.
LL
February 8th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Pfft.
Who ever would have guessed that AssClown’s idea of “fetching” is a self proclaimed malthusian town pump who looks like Scott Baio in drag.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Your mom, swift one. But I usually make her shave that little mustache first.
February 9th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
Haha!
Before she shaved her little mustache for light work like you AssClown, my mom would have ripped off your head and crapped down your neck.