Here, here, here, and here over at Hullabaloo; here, here and here at Glenn Greenwald's blog; here at Eschaton; and here at Crooks & Liars are all examples of what I think of as liberal blogger whine. It isn't a loud whine, not compared to the absolute, out of their minds, foot-stamping, madness going on in various right-wing circles as they try to come to terms with the fact the electorate just rejected them resoundingly. It is, however, a whine, similar to Rodney Dangerfield; in essence, they are claiming they get no respect, specifically from the mainstream press and mainstream pundits and commentators. They posit two things that are indisputable: (1) the bloggers were right about pretty much everything from the war to taxes to the election outcome; (2) mainstream pundits have been wrong consistently on just about everything of any substance coming out of Washington since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. For this reason, it would seem the bloggers want not only respect, but acceptance into the ranks of the pundit class. They want their views taken seriously. They want to be heard in the din that is official Washington punditry. Apparently the difference they have made, the strides in getting out the vote, in voter education and awareness, in stripping the scales off the eyes of Americans to the insanity of our current government and the mendacity and lack of maturity among most of its capitol press corps - all this is meaningless if they have no access to power.
If the pundits actually pulled their heads out and realized how wrong they were; if their editors held them to the same level of professional accountability a normal beat reporter was forced to uphold in terms of accuracy and accepting responsibility when they were wrong, therefore depriving most of them of jobs; if the pundits saw the reality in front of them instead of trying to understand it in terms they understand but are no longer applicable - if all these things happened, perhaps I could see even wanting to join their ranks. Worse, if they accepted even one liberal blogger into their midst as a true equal, and not some exhibit from some strange planet far away, I would wonder, not at their judgement, but at the blogger's judgement. After all, considering the MSM track record, how right could or would they be?
Power and influence and important. Being a voice is also important. Yet, the liberal bloggers are outside the establishment, and their voice is the voice of the people - of all of us - and that voice was heard on November 7. The work is far from over, of course, but having the ear of the powerful is far less important than being rallying points for action, most important keeping the legislators' feet to the fire. All of us writing blogs, even this little one, carry that responsibility. I wouldn't pass it up for anything, not even a seat at the table with David Broder and George Will. Art Buchwald, maybe. . . .
Virtual Tin Cup
