skippy the bush kangaroo: lighten up, already!

Friday, March 17, 2006

lighten up, already!

I think Kos and Atrios are absolutely right, and that regulating Internet political speech is a very bad idea. But I'm getting very tired of hearing progressives who disagree being called nasty names like stupid goo-gooers.

An otherwise stalwart ally becomes an object of contempt overnight. That's not good politics, and it leaves out the self-examination part. The right question may be: Have I explained myself clearly enough?

Maybe these skeptics aren't so stupid. They see people they normally respect and trust on the other side of this complex-seeming issue, and that raises questions for them.

Now bloggers can (and do) say, "How many times have I told you: slate.com and dailykos.com shouldn't be treated differently." But then they hear someone else saying, "slate.com is primarily journalism, and dailykos.com is primarily advocacy." Then they're confused.

That doesn't make them "stupid goo-gooers." Guys: Take a breath. Step back.

Matt Stoller tries manfully to clear things up (as skippy noted earlier), but the picture will still be cloudy for many readers. Here's my take on what I think some skeptics are still missing:

Now, more than ever, all journalism is "advocacy" journalism. You can't separate one kind from the other, on the Internet or anywhere else. (Paging Chris Matthews. Tim Russert to the pink tent ... etc.) Who's going to decide what's "advocacy" and what isn't?

And, as to the issue of treating Internet communications differently from print media: If "The Nation" and "National Review" shouldn't be regulated by the FEC, neither should Daily Kos. And if Judith Miller's writings weren't subject to regulation, why should Duncan's or Matt's?

Hope that helps. Others should jump in and address people's concerns, too. For example: What do we say to the progressive who's thinking, "I'm not worried about DailyKos, but I am worried about what happens when the Swift Boat crowd pours big dollars into the Internet." Anyone care to run with that one?

Now remember: Nobody's "stupid." We're all on the same side. Why can't we all just get along?

posted by RJ Eskow at 1:15 PM |