I really never read anything written by either Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon or Melissa McEwan from Shakespeare’s Sister, or if I have caught bits and pieces, I don't really remember them. So I stayed right out of the blog controversy when the two were hired by John Edwards. The New York Times, however, has now weighed in. And they can't miss a chance to slam blogs and bloggers, now can they?
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — Two bloggers hired by John Edwards to reach out to liberals in the online world have landed his presidential campaign in hot water for doing what bloggers do — expressing their opinions in provocative and often crude language.
The Catholic League, a conservative religious group, is demanding that Mr. Edwards dismiss the two, Amanda Marcotte of the Pandagon blog site and Melissa McEwan, who writes on her blog, Shakespeare’s Sister, for expressing anti-Catholic opinions.
Mr. Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, is among the leading Democratic presidential candidates.
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said in a statement on Tuesday, “John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic vulgar trash-talking bigots.”
Mr. Edwards’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said Tuesday night that the campaign was weighing the fate of the two bloggers.
The article points out a number of things written by the two that are vulgar or vitriolic. Ed Morrisey points out the problem Edwards got himself into on this by failing to examine the record of the two. He also points out that this incident is a setback for bloggers in general. He's right. And the New York Times and the other media outlets are going to use it as a way to tar and feather all bloggers.
Yes, Edwards was an idiot for not vetting these loons before signing them up, but something Capt. Ed wrote sticks in my craw:
“Unfortunately, we can expect this incident to make it harder for bloggers to make the transition into traditional political roles on campaigns.”
As I said in his comments, this won’t make it harder for non-firebreather bloggers, just the totally over-the-top types. Besides, The Rise of the Bloggersâ„¢ was because they were sick and tired of the “traditional” way things worked in politics and media and began tearing away those Emperors’ clothes, so for me the idea of being “brought into the fold” equates to selling your soul.
Well, Mr. Edwards had gotten a lot of free publicity for his blog. Now all he has to do is throw Amanda and Melissa under the bus and carry on as usual.
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It will NOT be a setback for bloggers, not in the least. That anti-catholic marcotte is nasty. At first I thought Edwards should fire her but now I’m glad he brought the putrefaction onboard.
For me it’s not a matter of what language she uses, i.e. vulgar obscenities…no it’s her anti-catholic and/or anti-christian grandiloquence ways, it’s more of a personal matter for me.
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I hate these automatic pingbacks, I moved the post. Sorry ’bout that.
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I’ve never read them either but as an Irish-Catholic, let me say that anyone who aggravates that religious bigot Bill Donohue is fine in my book.
The sooner the media stops paying attention to his self-aggrandizing ravings, the better it will be for all Irish-Catholics. He’s an embarrassment.
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Throughout this thread, only a single person has admonished Mr. Donohue for his hypocrisy; apparent when he chastises another for being a “trash-talking bigot.â€
No worries however, I have composed a piece on this issue which handles this side of the debate.
Indeed, consider what was articulated by these two women regarding the Pope’s hostility towards homosexuals, reproductive rights, and “privacy.†What was stated by these women, regarding these issues and others, was accurate.
I also considered this side of the debate, so again, all is well.
Surely Mr. Edwards should not be expected to alter his campaign based on the opinions of Mr. Donohue’s minions, and other such puppets? What good would they bring to an Edwards candidacy?
I know that bashing of Christians and Catholics in particular is wildly popular on the left, Alex. But if a politician wants to get elected, he cannot alienate a very, very large constituency.
No line has been crossed. Just the NYT showing that it too can be incompetent when spouting opinion, which is what the NYT article is, opinion.
Bloggers are hired by everyone from McCain to Edwards.
Edwards should simply tell the “critics” to jump in the lake.
However, this is an interesting test on Edwards ability to handle a “crisis”.
Go Bloggers…
Alex? look at it from Edwards perspective: now that this has hit the MSM, who does he throw under the bus? Two nutroots blogistas, thereby incurring the wrath of their fellow travellers, or an outrageously larger group of potential voters who self-identify as “Christians,”… and mean it? (Unlike many–including some of my own family and friends–who consider themselves “Catholics,” but only on the high holy days.)
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