INDCJournal: A Note To Readers

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July 24, 2004

A Note To Readers

Posted by Bill

Sometimes I employ dismissive partisan language during the course of blogging, like snide references to "left-wing," or "liberal." Sometimes I feel bad for this; after all, noble and reasonable people can represent both conservative and liberal ideologies, and I have a liberal streak a mile wide: I'm not religious, I generally support gay marriage, I'm pro-choice, etc., etc., etc. And casually throwing around derogatory terms, while economical, can also sound unthinking and ignorant.

But you know what? Here's the face of the Democratic Party:

Moulitsas, who will be blogging from Boston, Massachusetts, site of the Democratic convention, works closely with the party. He says he has raised more than $400,000 for Democratic candidates.

This awkward, self-loathing font of conspiratorial hate is a popular Democratic activist and fundraiser. He is the poster boy for Dem National Convention blogging. His name is Kos, and he sees a profit motive behind every Bush Administration action and expresses shadenfraude at American difficulty in Iraq, largely because such paranoid unthinking reflexes validate all of the fundamental assumptions that make his world spin.

He can shower, shave, slick himself down with Loreal styling gel and put on a nice brown suit, but that will never change the fact that this respectable face of the Democratic establishment had the instinct to say "screw them" after the murder and dismemberment of Americans in Fallujah, just because the men that were killed were well-compensated and worked for large corporations.

And I can cite many, many other examples of unsavory left-wing behavior that aren't merely associated with far leftist ANSWER and Democratic Underground moonbats, rather the legitimate representatives of the Democratic party, including the Democratic National Committee Chairman and the Democratic Senate and House leadership.

By virtue of siding with the Republicans, I have to indirectly embrace loose associations with some far-right elements that I don't agree with (vehemently) on many issues, but nowhere in the official hierarchy of my chosen party can I find such examples of depraved, frothy extremism. I'll take 10 Rick Santorums or Tom Delays over one Kos, Terry Mcauliffe, Jim McDermott, Robert Byrd, Al Gore or Maxine Waters, any damn day of the week.

So from now on, let's get something straight: whenever anyone reads INDC Journal and sees me derisively employ the terms "left-wing," "Democrat" or "liberal" as a dismissive throwaway, please, please understand: I don't unconsciously employ these terms as an ignorant partisan automaton ...

I employ these terms out of a carefully considered disgust for the official representatives of the Democratic Party's establishment.

Posted by Bill at July 24, 2004 10:05 PM | TrackBack (0)

Comments

Great post, Bill. You made it perfectly clear: yours is not a knee-jerk dismissal. It's a carefully weighed, thoughtfully considered, meticulously rationalized dismissal.

Right on.

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at July 24, 2004 11:22 PM

So that's the little twit who says "screw 'em" whenever the militants cut off another head. No screw the militants, but screw the volunteer contractors!

Does the DNC really think we don't know they know this?

Posted by: Comrade at July 24, 2004 11:54 PM

"Does the DNC really think we don't know they know this?"

No, the problem is that they're confident that the main stream media won't out him so that everyone else will find out.

Posted by: RonB at July 25, 2004 02:13 AM

What baffles me is how "liberal" and "Democrat" are received as bad words. Why does everyone on the left want to be a "moderate," an "independent," or "conservative, but voting against Bush?"

Why vote with a party you're ashamed of?

It's like marrying the girl you'd never introduce to your friends.

Posted by: McGroarty at July 25, 2004 02:39 AM

Does the DNC really think we don't know they know this?

I think they're proud of it. I think they're proud that somebody had the courage to say something that they themselves are thinking but can't say for fear of political suicide.

I think the DNC really has lost touch with the heart and soul of America. The heart and soul of American mourns when Americans are killed overseas. We don't get smug.

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at July 25, 2004 01:07 PM

Bill,

If you want to read a thoughtful democrat-leaning blog, read Josh Marshall, Brad DeLong or the Decembrist. Reading lesser quality blogs is a waist of time. I, for instance, avoid your blog and instead read Andrew Sullivan who often does put his gray matter into work.

Posted by: Serafim at July 25, 2004 01:23 PM

Gosh Serafim, thanks for the nasty, backhanded swipe.

I used to read Andrew Sullivan, before he became shrill over an issue that finally touched him personally, behavior which has rendered him a 2-D parody of a conservative that lacks empathy for others when they don't share his fate.

And Josh Marshall's pensive style may make people like you think that he's really thoughtful, but his bs cryptic teaser items have been discredited too many times to count. The other two I'm not familiar with ...

Oh yeah, and by the way ... piss off. In between avoiding my blog that doesn't employ "grey matter," that is ....

Posted by: Bill from INDc at July 25, 2004 01:52 PM

Hey, Serafim, did you know that Andrew Sullivan is gay? And that he has an opinion on gay marriage?

I thought I should mention it, cause, you know, Sully himself never brings it up.

Posted by: Jeff Harrell at July 25, 2004 05:31 PM

Don't forget Cynthia McKinney!

Posted by: Chris of Dangerous Logic at July 25, 2004 05:39 PM

If you want to read a thoughtful democrat-leaning blog, read Josh Marshall

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! *gasp* HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Posted by: Sortelli at July 25, 2004 08:40 PM

Boo, hiss for serafim unless that person's a good RL friend who's just messing with Bill.

I think I'm a good judge of writing, and I love well-written, thoughtful, and/or entertaining blogs that challenge the way I think or look at the world in a way I've never thought of before. That's why I read INDC Journal.

--|PW|--

Posted by: pennywit at July 25, 2004 11:10 PM

Cherubim, I mean, Seraphim: If you never read Bill's blog how did you know what the topic was that you were commenting on? Unless your psycho, I mean psychic?

Posted by: Mike at July 26, 2004 11:46 AM

I could seriously put up with all the rest, except for Robert Byrd. He is an evil man. The rest are simply flawed people.

But Robert Byrd .... evil.

-ron

Posted by: ballantrae at July 29, 2004 01:03 PM