I cannot agree more with Jason and Michael on their entries regarding blogosphere partisanship.  I too have noticed the general partisan line on blogs from the left and right.  On these blogs, views other than the line defined by that blog’s writers are generally not expressed, although every blog seems to have a few outsiders thrown into the mix.  Additionally, those having moderate/centrist views or views outside the mainstream liberal/conservative dichotomy are sidelined and sometimes ridiculed.  Yet, I believe that the current polarization in the blogosphere can find its root in the polarization and partisanship we see in the current Congress.

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Musings on why Memeorandum will not feature this post or anything else I write, for that matter.

Skimble, a political blog, is closing up shop out of annoyance with the endless triviality of the election debate in 2008. Over at TalkLeft, Democrat partisans have diagnosed the problem predictably as being one of insufficient extremism — being moderate or centrist is, to them, the worst sort of boring. (The fact that right-wing blogs just completely ignore these posts merely reinforces my point.)

Skimble gets the symptoms right and TalkLeft gets the diagnosis precisely wrong, though. This election has become too annoying to write about. But the problem is not the lack of partisan zealotry, the problem is the relentless and predictable scripts of partisan zealotry. (more…)

We have met the enemy, and he is us.

As the 2008 elections move into the arena of partisan gladiatorial combat, the potentially unique features of both candidates are already getting lost as the political chattering classes return to their old worst habits. And while its leading lights love to congratulate themselves on the new power of the blogosphere, the reality is much more mundane…and much more depressing. The blogosphere in 2008 is largely populated by tired reiterations of very old partisan scripts.

Chief among these is what I would call the presumption of bad faith — the idea that those who disagree politically are not only in error, but are actually bad people. (more…)

Once again showing his famous tolerance for dissent, TMV’s Shaun Mullen charges “libel” in response to criticism of his earlier post. (Apparently TMV has repealed its policy against posts that attack people instead of responding to issues — or maybe it is just an exception made especially for the terrifying “poli kids”.)

As a public service, we would like to note the legal definition of “libel” in case Mullen would like to actually follow through with his latest tantrum. And to help Mullen (and his “Secret Squirrel club” of fans who run to him to tattle whenever Mullen’s views come in for any criticism) tell what is a real personal attack instead of just a disagreement, we’d like to post a link to an example.

At least this time he didn’t email us with an order to “get the f*** out of my thread”.

Over at The Moderate Voice (TMV), Paul Silver posts what amounts to an advertisement for TMV as the exemplar of the moderate blogosphere. In doing so, he calls into question about what really constitutes a “moderate” form of politics. And I honestly cannot agree that TMV represents it within the blogging world. More important, however, the false advertising of “moderate” says something broader about our dysfunctional political culture. (more…)

Robert Wright has been testing our patience, but this week a revamped and as expected a decidedly less green Bloggingheads.tv emerged on our screens. The length of the various diavlogs on Bloggingheads are not exactly commensurate with our fast moving and quick linking culture, but Wright and Kaus’ brainchild is proving to be the antidote to what passes these days as political commentary on regular TV screens. A mandatory bookmark.

To Booker Rising’s Shay and Fausta Wertz for promoting PoliGazette at their respective blog. In return I would like to encourage all of you to visit both Booker Rising and Fausta’s Blog and to add it to your daily reads. Both are among the best blogs in the blogosphere.