I mean, the right wing of the blogosphere may have plenty of drivel, but one can also find there the very intelligent and clever offerings of Edward Michael George or Ghost of a Flea, for instance. I may often disagree vehemently with them, but I can't but respect their writing. Sadly, I have yet to encounter a Liberal blogger whose intelligence I feel compelled to respect.
Anyway, I may soon have to start a Kinsella counterspin/ translation blog. For the last number of months, the spin has been so wanton and irresponsible that it begs to be countered. For example, when the Ontario Liberals retained one of their safest seats anywhere in yesterday's by-election (since being established in 1999, the Liberals have always taken the seat with over 50% of the vote), Kinsella interprets that as being up "against formidable odds".
For now, I'm just glad Kinsella has stopped referring to Ignatieff as "Michael" and followed that up by removing that creepy photo of Ignatieff (you remember, that one in which Ignatieff looks about 35 years old, has windswept hair, is wearing what I believe is a football jersey (gag!) and looks like a college student in search of a keg party). I'm guessing the purpose was to make Ignatieff more down to earth and accessible (remember Dion's problem shedding the image of the "professorial" aloof politician?). Whatever it was, the choice to use that photo appeared a little freaky. Check out Kinsella's posts around January or February of this year and you'll see what I mean. He continually gushes over "Michael" like a teenage girl. But hey, if that's the face that launches you into dreamland, so be it. I'm not here to judge.
_______
Update: I've added hyperlink above to said photo for the benefit of those who asked.
17 comments:
Hi.
You know who started a Kinsella counterspin blog, as you want to? Stockwell Day. He did it during the 2000 campaign. It was called "Spinning Warren's Web."
How did that work out for him?
"that ancient photo of Ignatieff (you remember, that one with windswept hair looking like a college student in search of a keg party)."
Priceless
Iggy just can't get any respect, but he tried, and he tried....
Anyway, the lib-bloggers seem to want to emulate Harper and tribe in adopting the bullying and ignorant approach.
Can understand that they are pissed. Poor Iggy went pop in the MSM today:
Who Won
Iggy Flails and Fizzles
For Liberals, new leader, same losing scenario [ouch, the Liberalstar]
It's amusing seeing "Michael" and the libs imitate "Steven" and the cons.
I like the CCPA widget.
For many, blogging is a pseudo-social-life...and there is little thoughtful dialogue.
I don't pay much attention to "partisan blogging." I do know that among Liberal bloggers, "Impolitical" gets a lot of high praise...
Having said that, I am not sure most NDP bloggers even know that they often advocate for liberal capitalism...Everything is ill-defined...The fact that Liberals and NDPers are joined under the term "Progressive Bloggers" shows a complete lack of understanding of anything and everything to me...The Liberal blogs would be better lumped under an umbrella with the Conservatives. Iggy and Harper both dance for the corporations...
Good thoughtful response by Polly and I agree. I too like the CCPA widget.
The problem with many political blogs is that they are maintained by hyper-partisans who consider their job to be promoting the party line instead of promoting political discussion.
There are a few non-partisan blogs out there but, to no ones surprise - especially mine, we are generally accused by all sides of "being against" party A-B-C as opposed to "for discussion and/or debate" because the hyper-partisan cannot fathom the political blogger who does not toe a party line.
Tonight, I read some of the "gossip" about Layton and Iggy...
We are facing a global recession...this is an opportunity to provide new economic vision, to excite the public about new ideas and engage in critical policy debates...
But, most prefer to keep the discussion narrow...Is the NDP divided?
"Yes, they are."
"No, they aren't."
"You can't come to my birthday anymore!"
James Laxer provides thoughts worth considering:
http://www.jameslaxer.com/2009/09/jack-and-gilles-went-up-hill.html
There are plenty of good, thoughtful Liberal bloggers out there. There are even some real progressives among them. Unfortunately, craziness in Ottawa makes partisans everywhere get a little crazier. I know that I've been guilty on more than one occasion of getting a little too caught up in the minutiae of the Hill. Sometimes we partisans just need to collectively take a nice deep breath and remember how little most Canadians care about the games we play between elections.
har, har, har. i have to question your intelligence when you say that Jason Cherniak, aka Canada's stupidest blogger, was actually intelligent.
the smartest thing that intellectually stunted, pea brained midget idiot ever did was to quit blogging.
Thanks for the comments, particularly Jan (on whom left "progressives" will always be able to count), Polly, Stageleft, and Devin.
Polly, I completely share your observation about some NDP bloggers and their unwitting support for neoliberalism- even social democracy is for me an undesirable compromise.
While I was mainly venting, I was simply throwing out an observation I had made long ago. For me there are two separate issues. Yes, expectedly, political blogs tend to be partisan. The issue then is how to be passionately partisan while maintaining some sense of integrity and critical judgment. I'm not foolhardy enough to think there's such a thing as objectivity, but I also believe there must be a line between responsible and irresponsible commitment to a position.
Secondly, and I say this with candour, I have yet to stumble upon a Liberal blog which has proffered anything but the most basic, middling quality of analysis and writing. Liberal blogs lack not only probity, but luster and quality. They tend to be boring, repetitive, poorly written, and lacking in insight. I only single out Kinsella because, well he's symptomatic of what I'm talking about, but also he has a tremendous amount of traffic. Regardless, compare him with Coyne or Wells (people of roughly same generation/ education). There's no comparison.
Head over to Edward Michael George (whom I wish had a comments section or was willing to debate) or Ghost of a Flea, even Kate at Small Dead Animals and you'll find high calibre writing, and often something astute and thoughtful.
Polly's point about NDP bloggers notwithstanding, there are a number of excellent, well written and critically sound blogs on the left, many of them on my blogroll.
BTW, Backseat Blogger, I believe and it is indeed unfortunate that Cherniak has NOT stopped blogging. It's just that he prefers not to be regularly excoriated, so he blogs by invitation only.
Peace...
Ghost of a Flea we can agree upon, SDA is a horse of a different colour - there's nothing there but cheap hyper-partisan potshots and an admonishment not to engage in lengthy debates.
I'd say Impolitical is right up there. A must-read for me, and I generally have no time for Liberals at all.
Impolitical, hands down.
That blogger researches and provides citations, and has along memory.
Still partisan, but makes good argument and is one of my must reads.
I am too, of course, incredible, but I'm not Liberal.
Partisanship happens on all the blogs that have party logos.
Sniping contests abound!
Blogs are rather a hyper concentrated microcosm of the political climate in the country.
And in the end the Cons win. :)
Before they all got together under the big C, the left had a distinct advantage over the right..... The Conservatives were wandering the woods after the Mulroney debacle under distinctly different banners.
I don't see this situation improving.
Ever.
Not without the will to do so.
And since the corp media seems to only listen to the Kinsella's and the Cherniak's.....OY.
And the Small dead brain cell types. The Overton window has been shattered.
Am already sick of the pre-election hyper-partisanship among all party bloggers but, yes, particularly among bloggers touting the Liberal line (and I agree that impolitical is among the better Liberal bloggers).
It has become so bad that this non-partisan blogger and dedicated tweeter no longer reads certain blogs and has taken the audacious step recently of unfollowing certain Liberal tweeters. Have been tempted more than once to do the same about one or two NDP diehard loyalists too.
The mindless cheerleading is simply too much for me. I hunger for good discussion in order to learn about the different political policies, philosophies and platforms so I can, in turn, write from an informed perspective and make the best informed decisions. Therefore, my frustration gets intense when so much of what I find is empty of substance. Too bad the cheerleaders don't comprehend that their unquestioned idolatry can cause readers to wonder what they're trying to hide about the parties they support.
Speaking of Ignatieff, have you seen this ad that popped up on Youtube last week?
I always enjoy Calgary Grit. Partisan to be sure, but he's more than willing to point out the flaws in his own team as well as his opponents', and he has a sense of humour as well.
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