Henry, you... you academic, you. I failed to see any knock against
Dan (who is everything you say he is) or championing of demogoguery
in Patrick's post.
The point is that the vast majority of the liberal blogging
audience - including Kevin's (and CT's for that matter; look at
your comment section) - read blogs because they're righteously
pissed off. They don't feel their disgust with all that's
transpired in the last few years is being represented in the media
or by the Democratic Party.
Kevin seems to think that his niche is being the Voice of Reason
and can therefore tell the choleric hoi polloi to talk to the hand.
That's fine, but it just ain't true. There's no shortage of outlets
outside the blogosphere serving up "fairness and balance."
One doesn't have be a butcher to provide red meat to the readers. I
think Josh Marshall has begun to grasp this point, mixing in some
healthy indignation and calls to action with his insights. I even
noticed some populist rhetoric flowing from his New Democrat guest
bloggers.
Anyway, I think what Patrick is driving at is that one can't simply
dismiss righteous partisan anger just because it's expression
offends one's sensibilities. People may often make asses of
themselves in their outbursts, but their anger is genuine and
justified. A smart writer will not only acknowlege that passion,
but harness it - especially in an interactive medium like blogging.
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