When you see arguments like this one beginning to circulate through the left side of the blogosphere (where it will doubtless gain traction, then be dutifully repeated by Keith Olbermann and the folks at Air America, and finally by more mainstream outlets), it’s useful to revisit Howard Kurtz’ July 21 column, which offers this enlightening insight into the progressive strategy for derailing Bush’s court choices:
The lightning-quick attacks [on SCOTUS nominee John Roberts] came after 50 top liberal bloggers joined in a 45-minute conference call Tuesday night. “On the left, we’ve always talked about the need to have an echo chamber,” says John Aravosis, a Washington lawyer and gay activist who writes at Americablog.com . “We believe the right has a whole media network, from talk radio to Fox News to Matt Drudge. The left doesn’t have that because the left doesn’t play well with others.”
This is the first Supreme Court nomination of the Internet age, meaning that liberal and conservative opinion-mongers are already blanketing cyberspace with arguments, facts, taunts, polemics, gossip and electronic links to raw data, hoping to rally the faithful and influence the mainstream media coverage.
The conference call was arranged by BlogPAC , a political action committee that got some of its members on the phone with Sen. Ted Kennedy on the day that Sandra Day O’Connor announced she was leaving the court. The group has also held calls with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Russell Feingold and the liberal organizations involved in the nomination battle, including MoveOn, Alliance for Justice, NARAL and People for the American Way.
Kennedy “reached out to them directly to convey the impact that this decision will have on hundreds of millions of Americans, whose last line of defense for their freedoms and liberties is the Supreme Court,” says Laura Capps, the senator’s spokeswoman.
Such coordination seems to defy the image of bloggers as iconoclastic lone rangers, pounding the keyboards in their bedrooms and basements without regard to interest-group politics.
Well, on the left, at least, Howard.
Me, I’ve yet to get a call from, say, Rick Santorum or Bill Frist—and the only contact I’ve ever had with an administration official arrived atmospherically in the form of Karl Rove’s mind rays.
Nice to see the left’s self-described “echo chamber” following orders like the good little agit-prop soldiers Teddy and co. relied upon them to be…
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see also, John Cole; and thanks to Stoo for the Kurtz link.
This explains why Teddy was so peeved that right-wing bloggers had Roberts info he didn’t have. He thought they were getting it from the White House in a coordinated effort to rally the base in defense of their guy. After all, that’s what he would have done.
Really? I can’t get that damn Santorum to quit calling me. It was one night, Rick! Get over it.
Hmmmm. Does coordination between a democratic senator and like every leftist blog in the universe constitute fiancial support according to McCain-Feingold? I’m just askin.
So the left side of the blogosphere has decided to “be herd, not a pack”?
Excellent point, Matt. I’ll bet he thinks everybody’s been thrown out of school for chaeating at least once, and has caused at least one death from drunk driving.
I’m sorry, I see that name, realize he has not been laughed off the stage despite everything he’s done, and I just go nuts I tell ya, nuts! I’ll stop now.
Uh, “be a herd, not a pack”, that is…
I thought maybe you meant they’d decided to be heard.
We should encourage them to attack Roberts by whining about the 2000 election. That’s always a loser for them, which is why they are losers.
What I want to know is this:
Why are 90% of John Cole’s commenters flaming liberals/lefties?
I’m guessing it’s the Juan/John Cole confusion.
John has said some very critical things about the Bush administration and the right in general. He has claimed a sort of tiredness with the usual crap coming out of the stupid party. I can’t say I blame him much, or disagree. The stand did bring a big number of left leaning folks running.
Hell the Dems could use a guy like Cole, as they are about out of sane voices.
I would imagine that he garnered a lot of attention from leftish blogs during the Schaivo matter, considering the position he took. I also noticed an approving link to his site from OW not too long ago. His comment section has definately changed, though.
John’s comments are filled with lefties because of John’s propensity for throwing Republicans under the bus. He says something negative about Republicans, and instantly acquires a me-too chorus, as well as a completely undeserved reputation for intellectual honesty. It is the nature of things.
Hey, Jeff, the only contact you’ve had from administration officials has been from the Rove mind-control rays? Christ. Clearly the VRWC newsletter subscription list has gotten out of date.
Well, if Roberts did help Bush in Florida in 2000, I say confirm him even more! The more pissed off the useful idiots can get, the better. It’s more fun this way.
But I would watch John Aravosis. He could begin posting on Robert’s GAY PORN COCK OF LIES at any time.
This is just going to make things much, much worse for Dems. Making lefty fever swamps the mainstream of the Dem party will only turn America even farther away from their party.
My favorite part of the excerpt: “The left doesn’t have that [media network] because the left doesn’t play well with others.â€Â
Leaving aside for a moment the plain hilarity of the statement, what cracked me up anew was the attempt to sound tough, sort of like a college jock, but not a real college jock who plays basketball or football or anything – maybe lacrosse. (Which may in fact be a tougher game – I dunno. But it certainly isn’t the same thing.) Ordinarily I shun the temptation to point out weeniness in left-siders, but for heaven’s sake.
“Doesn’t play well with others”? The side of “consensus,” the side of “dialogue,” the side of the frickin’ village that’s so far not lifting a finger to raise my children? All right, I’ll grant that they don’t play well with their ideological opponents, but so what?
Typical of the Marxists, I mean the Left, nothing can be done without central planning.
Gents,
If you’d like to do more than run yer yaps, we have an event August 14 in Nashville. So, put aside your keyboards, meet some great people, and enjoy some of the hospitality our little town has to offer.