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Friday, February 16, 2007 12:00 AM

Why I had to quit the John Edwards campaign

During my brief tenure as blogmaster for a Democratic presidential contender, I experienced the right-wing smear machine firsthand

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  • Thursday, February 15, 2007 08:54 PM

    Excellent Summary

    I am always mystified by what the right wing decides is "beyond the pale" in civil discourse. When your world view contains a lot of sacred cows, I guess you get testy if somebody starts poking at them with sticks. With so many events and actions in the world worthy of outrage, it seems astounding they choose feminist bloggers for so much nasty vitriol. Truly, feminist bloggers like Amanda strike a nerve with certain people.

    I’d much rather see a weekly column by Amanda Marcotte on Salon than more impenetrable muck from Camille Paglia. Still, I don’t hate Camille Paglia or think she needs to be silenced just because I don’t like her writing. I certainly wouldn’t waste my time sending her mail suggesting she perform fellatio as penance for the column I didn’t like.

    .I’ll read her columns as well as Amanda Marcotte’s at Pandagon and be better for it, because bland writing, carefully parsed to be inoffensive, is lame. I’ll read someone who will take a stand and defend their ground any day. Right or wrong, it makes you think.

    Some people apparently just get angry if they are forced to think hard.

    The Edwards campaign lost here. Ms Marcotte and Ms McEwan will do more good as loud and proud bloggers than they would tucked behind the artfully crafted media wall of a political campaign. Bill Donohue and the screaming harpies of the right wing think they won this round but they didn’t. .

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