skippy the bush kangaroo: now if jeralyn and cliff were the only ones blogging, we'd be set

Monday, March 17, 2008

now if jeralyn and cliff were the only ones blogging, we'd be set

two of our good blog buddies, jeralyn merrit of talk left and cliff schecter of cliff schecter, were on msnbc this morning discussing how the dems are afraid that the blog wars between obama supporters and clinton supporters may destroy the party.

well, that's not what cliff and jeralyn said, that's what the chyron said at the bottom of the screen.

jeralyn and cliff were actually both quite temperate, calm and rational. and we have never known either one of them to be anything but.

however, the anchor (we believe it was contessa brewer) managed to make the "writers' strike" at dkos sound like a "blog battle" which has gotten so "out of hand." msnbc then quoted alegre's dkos post.

[ed. note: paddy, of cliff schecter's blog, tells us the anchor was monica novotny.]

cliff admitted theings had gotten "a little out of hand on certain blogs," but qualified his statement with the fact that it's primary season after all, and "people are apt to do that." cliff then went on to say that from his perspective, more unfair attacks were made by hillary clinton, but he was sure that jeralyn would have a different take. he then admitted that "that's not to say obama hasn't done anything" and that everyone would be better served by going after john mccain.

jeralyn then offered the opinions that (a) she thinks things will settle down, and more importantly (in our opinion) (b) commenters on a blog don't represent the people that write the blogs, and therefor it's up to the bloggers who own the site to moderate, or "set the limits," but a lot of bloggers don't believe in that.

[ed. note: a lot of bloggers are lazy, too.]

jeralyn then finished up agreeing w/cliff, that we all believe whoever the dem candidate will be, it will be an improvement over john mccain, and we all will get together behind that candidate.

meanwhile the chyron blurbs made it sound like blogs, contrary to what recent polls show, have so much influence that they are destroying the democratic party:

liberal bloggers boycotitng websites after "ugly" attacks

attacks heat up betwen clinton and obama supporters online

blogosphere attacks get nasty driving some bloggers away

dems worried ongoing blog battles will hurt the party

cliff wound up the segment stating that the supporters of either candidate will not abandon the party if the other is nominated, and he felt that all dems will come together against john mccain, and jeralyn agreed. and they both agreed they both liked each other. (and, we do, too!)

if only jeralyn and cliff were the hall monitors for blogtopia (yes, we coined that phrase, and msnbc didn't use it!), then perhaps things would not be so heated.

of course, we have our own problems w/dkos, and rude behavior over there is not limited to obama v. clinton. but that's another post.

addendum: following back jeralyn's gracious link to our story over at talkleft, we found she had the youtube of the whole she-bang:

also, in our comments section, renee in ohio points out something that we ourselves were musing upon. altho alegre's "strike" is the one getting the mmm's attention, it's certainly not the first time, or even second, or third, or even fourth time a group of bloggers have left the great orange satan for reasons having to do w/rudeness, hypocrisy on the part of dkos administrators, and ridiculous and dysfunctional edicts handed down from on high.

marisacat was one of the first to break off from the great orange satan back in the jurassic period of blogging;

booman tribune was formed by booman to house a group of dissatisfied dkossacks;

who can forget the huge kerfluffle starring maryscott o'connor, resulting in my left wing?

and of course there was our own blogroll amnesty day (slash ykos bitterness) disaster.

we're sure there are many, many more. please feel free to add your own list of no-longer-posting-at-the-great-orange-satan-and-much-more-mentally-healthy-for-it bloggers in our comments section.

Labels: blogtopia, clinton, democrats, hillary, obama, prez campaign

posted by skippy at 11:05 AM |

20 Comments:

Nice post, thanks :) It would be nice if everyone remembered what happens and is said online is not what necessarily is happening or felt in the real world. I must say Jeralyn and Cliff are more optimistic than I of the online dems coming together for whomever the nominee will be.

commented by

Tina, 12:37 PM PDT

It was Monica Novatny there Skip, and yes, they played very nice together.

commented by

Paddy, 2:01 PM PDT

Amazing that only *this* Big Orange kerfuffle manages to be newsworthy--how many others have there been?

Is fighting on teh interwebs! OH NOES!

It also is rather ironic that Alegre and her supporters did this out of a desire for the Great and Powerful Kos to "feel the hurt" by their not contributing to his page hits and ad revenue. What happens? This gets major news coverage, someone at ABC news actually interviews Markos--I'm not seeing the downside for him.

But I guess it's newsworthy because it's a "big trouble for the Democrats" story.

We need better monkeys in charge of the news reporting.

commented by

Renee in Ohio, 4:19 PM PDT

I'm so sorry I missed this, had to leave earlier. Sounds like great TV!

commented by

Daisy, 4:44 PM PDT

Hey Skippy - I haven't been around too much since Blogger Amnesty Day when I first discovered you but I like Cliff and am pleased to read about the joint appearance today. Ironically, I had a total flamer going on my blog, which really doesn't see that much action usually and, ironically, it was in a thread that started with a video of Obama saying, we need to stop it. Sigh.

Anyway - thanks.

commented by

Jill, 4:48 PM PDT

Jill above...sorry you went through that...you are not alone- it has been happening alot..esp to smaller blogs ( not skippy size)...Skippy and co...thank you for blogging on this- I just caught the tail end..and I don't think Monica is a blogger- she seemed kind of confused.....but CLif and Jeralyn did a good job....
I don't know if I feel so optimistic...I have a pact with myself to never vote repug..and sadly for me I think much of Hill['s tactics have been right out the Rove Playbook...I don't think I can vote for her....ever....

( I have voted in EVERY election since I was 18....never ever missed one....but I also won't be part of something I can not support ....I taught my son to Vote for the Person that can bring change and heal our country- I would be a hypocrite to do something different...)

On another note- the blogs have been nasty...and to be honest it has been mostly Hill people that I have seen attacking ( and experiencing firsthand on my own blog).....and it saddens me- we should not have infighting within our own party- we should have our sights set on beating McCain....

commented by

enigma4ever, 5:41 PM PDT

Skippy-
OTHER blogs have gotten nasty - not here..sorry- that sounded kind of petulent....( but Kos and C&L have gotten pretty rough....battlezone-ish...)

I just wish we could find a way to heal this mess...and I have no idea HOW at this point...I really don't...

but I have started blogging reciepes and music again.....Soulfood...

commented by

enigma4ever, 5:52 PM PDT

You forgot that I was in a flame war in an AOL chatroom with a 13 year old tech wiz, because he thought Britney was hot and I was all like "Ewwwww."

Ever since then, the internets have been much improved, with less pimples.

And that 13 year old turned out to be William Kristol just trying to meet skanks.

commented by

Kevin Hayden, 7:40 PM PDT

Oh okay - if you REALLY want pile-on stories. :)

So - I don't have time for all the blogs I read, let alone the big ones I should keep an eye just because...whatever, kind of like getting a print newspaper even though I never read it.

But last year, someone forwarded to me a post or I saw a reference to a post at DKos about Pelosi and Israel or something and had something I wanted to say about the topic. So, on my own blog. I did. Well, then someone said in a comment that I really should post it. So I did.

THEN - all hell broke loose. (I'd provide the link but I'm assuming some people won't want to go there!! It was basically me talking about what a tough topic Israel is for some people at it's heartwrenching, from my perspective)

First, the person who wrote the post to which I'd been referred, got angry with me because I posted a post, and didn't just do a comment and so I was stealing his thunder and comments.

Then, the anti-Israel stuff was horrible.

THEN, there was a chorus of thank yous for saying stuff that no one bothers to write anymore because you get raked over the coals for it.

Again, I say to people and/or blogs that supposedly are all pro-Obama and ABH? Do they really think such intimidation as is going on at their places is what Obama wants?

Because if it is in fact somethign they believe he would sanction, well, that tells me a whole lot.

I don't actually think he is - I think their tactics are more in line with what they accuse Clinton of being like.

Anyway - I never wrote another diary there and went back to only visiting or reading it if there's no way around it for particular content.

There's nothing new there and nothing presented in a way that I find amenable to discourse - not the discourse I like anyway.

They're doing just fine without me I'm sure. :)

commented by

Jill, 6:18 AM PDT

I'm glad they played nicely on TV - their better and wiser natures prevailing. Honestly, I've been rather disappointed with Talk Left this past month or so, and I've seen the same sentiment expressed many places. If this marks a return to form, great.

I spend a lot of time at C&L, although not as much in the threads as I used to. The posters themselves haven't endorsed Obama or Clinton, although the threads are obviously a different matter. A lot of that going around...

commented by

Batocchio, 10:36 AM PDT

speaking as a poster for C&L, we are instructed that neither Crooks or John Amato has or will endorse a Democrat before a nominee has been chosen. Period.

Speaking NOT as a poster for C&L, anytime those who post diaries at someone else's website are called "bloggers," I laugh and laugh.

commented by

Blue Gal, 11:28 AM PDT

Thanks for the definitive statement, BG!

Personally, I'm still irked every time a MSM type refers to a commenter as a "blogger." Even if he or she is a blogger elsewhere, it's a thread and it may be a more off-handed comment. As to the diarists, I hear ya, but hey, we all gotta start somewhere! ;-)

commented by

Batocchio, 11:44 AM PDT

yeah, it's kind of like holding an editorial staff for a newspaper responsible for a letter to the ed.

commented by

skippy, 1:27 PM PDT

Skippy, that's a good analogy even some clueless MSM types might understand! I'm talking about those who are sincerely confused in addition to being dismissive, rather than those who are operating in bad faith and cherry-picking, of course. ;-)

commented by

Batocchio, 3:40 PM PDT

Per Israel flamewars:

Jill, you are so not alone.

commented by

MaryscottOConnor, 6:33 PM PDT

Per Israel flamewars:

Jill, you are so not alone.

commented by

Maryscott OConnor, 6:34 PM PDT

Damn it. Double post. I hate that.

commented by

Maryscott OConnor, 6:35 PM PDT

Thanks, Maryscott - I really appreciate that. Coincidentally, an Ohio blogger I really like (in addition to Renee in Ohio, btw), is Lisa Renee Ward of Glass City Jungle - she made a list of female bloggers she likes in honor of Women's History Month and you were on it. If she recommends it, then I know that I really need to take a look.

Anyway - thanks - and I hate those duplicates too.

commented by

Jill, 7:16 PM PDT

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commented by

zhangxiaopi, 6:20 AM PDT