Yes. But now we can have so much fun taunting the liberals with that famous ine from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine:
IT'S NO LONGER A BLUE WORLD, MAX!!
Posted on 03/21/2006 11:26:48 AM PST by abb
Published: March 21, 2006 11:35 AM ET
NEW YORK During the recent controversy surrounding Dan Froomkin's blog at The Washington Post, editors not only decided to clearly label his column "opinion" but also to make an effort to hire a conservative blogger to balance his alleged liberal slant.
Today, the Post launched the result: A new blog called "Red America," created by Ben Domenech, co-founder of RedState, a popular community blog.
It immediately set off what Post political reporter Tom Edsall called a "firestorm" in his online chat today.
A former contributing editor to National Review Online, Domenech later became what he calls "the youngest political appointee of President George W. Bush." After a stint as chief speechwriter for Texas Senator John Cornyn, he became a book editor at Regnery Publishing, where he worked with Michelle Malkin and others.
Starting with a bang, he declared today, "This is a blog for the majority of Americans." Some may argue that this is an outdated notion, given the president's current approval rating and the latest polls showing that a clear majority of Americans favor Democrats in this November's congressional elections.
But Domenech continues:
"Yet even in a climate where Republicans hold command of every branch of government, and advocate views shared by a majority of voters, the mainstream media continues to treat red state Americans as pachyderms in the mist -- an alien and off-kilter group of suburbanite churchgoers about which little is known, and whose natural habitat is a discomforting place for even the most hardened reporter from the New York Times ...
"While the mainstream media has been slow to recognize the growth in conservative America, smart Democrats have not. Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner and Hillary Clinton are not alone in recognizing that the unhinged elements of their base, motivated by partisan rage, Michael Moore conspiracies and a pronounced feeling of victimhood have dragged down the Democratic Party for far too long ...Red America's citizens are the political majority. They're here to stay. It's time to start paying attention to what they believe and why."
The launch upstaged what the Post's Edsall had hoped to talk about during his online chat today. Here is a selection of the exchanges there.
*
Rahway, N.J.: I see that you have hired Ben Domenench, one of the founders of RedState.org, a leading right-wing political weblog, to write the "Red America" blog for the Washington Post. In his current post, he immediately defames and slurs leading left-wing political blogs such as DailyKos.com. Can we assume that you will provide an equal opportunity to the left side of the blogosphere by granting a prominent left-wing blogger a column as well? Since the media fairness doctrine is long dead, thanks to Mr. Domenench's hero Ronald Reagan, I suppose there is no longer a legal requirement to do so, but it would be nice if The Post could at least pretend to give some kind of equal voice to the left.
Tom Edsall: The hiring of Ben Domenench of RedState has provoked a firestorm, if the volume of questions this morning is any measure. One theory in the newsroom is that he was hired at the behest of Dana Milbank. More seriously, I am told that this is part of the Post's web operation's efforts to provide diverse views. These decisions are, unfortunately, above my paygrade, much as I would love to have the power to hire and fire. ______________________
Iowa: I'm assuming this RedState blogger is being paid. How does the Post management justify this when the newsroom staff is being cut by 10 percent according to several reports I have read? I would much rather have The Post continue to present quality, unbiased political coverage than provide bandwidth to an avowed partisan.
Tom Edsall: Another good question. Washingtonpost.com is technically separate from the Post newspaper. The dot com is widely viewed as the area of future growth, while the paper is struggling to keep making a profit in the face of declining circulation and growing competition for advertizers. The results are very different personnel policies. The consequences for the quality of the journalism are not yet determind, although budget constraints are already limiting the scope of our work.
_______________________
Deary, Idaho: Can you ask those people above your paygrade to reconsider their decision to hire a rabid republican to "balance" Dana Millbank? There is no balance there. Granted, it is hard to find people on the left with the oblivious and offensive certainty of RedStaters. After all, the left has no Coulter or Limbaugh. But if you're going to give the far right a forum you better look hard for an anarchist or extreme radical for the other side.
Tom Edsall: The idea of trying to balance Dana Milbank poses some very interesting questions that I would love to explore, but my suggestions (hire someone with vision, who does not thrive on ridicule) would take too much space. Many of us do believe Dana is rabid.
_______________________
Washington, D.C.: The hiring of the Red State Blogger is yet another example of why I cancelled my subscription to The Post and do not intend to ever re-instate it. The Post's view that it needs to "balance" viewpoints buys into the notion that The Washington Post adequately provides a forum for a liberal viewpoint. Do you really believe that The Post has an over abundance of liberal viewpoints?
Tom Edsall: In fairness to the many inquiries about the Red State blogger, the questions you raise go to some basic issues of journalism that deserve much more expansive treatment and should get answers defining the principles guiding the Post as it engages with web. I could shoot my mouth off on these questions, but they should be answered by those with the power to set policy.
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
LOL!
No room in the ivory tower for a renegade opinion?
Let's see...Republicans own the White House, both houses of congress, most statehouses, and the Supreme Court is tipping more to the right. Until the Democrats actually win an election, "Red State" does represent a majority of Americans.
That's the biggest problem with liberals - they really don't recognize the bias in the media or, if they do, they think it's perfectly justified! They just don't want to be fair!
Okay, it's not the biggest problem with liberals and it's probably not even in the top ten, but for today's purposes it's the biggest! ;)
Hey, stop it with the "Red State" references already. Red is the color of the hard Left, and has been for at least a century. In the 2000 elections, the MSM tried to confuse things by indicating Republican states by red. We should not let them get away with it.
I hope you're right. I am not usually a chicken little, but I have to admit, I am getting nervous. The incessant drumbeat of negative news (unless one reads the financial papers, one would be hard pressed to know that our economy has had 14 quarters in a row of positive growth) is taking it's tole...people really believe the economy is in the tank...and given the MSM news, you can't blame them.
Dear reader from Iowa,
You are suffering from severe delusions and may be clinically insane. Seek counseling immediately.
LOl..agree though looking at how our boys are spending and increasing the size of government, it seems the press has confused more than the voting populace.
""This is a blog for the majority of Americans." Some may argue that this is an outdated notion, given the president's current approval rating and the latest polls showing that a clear majority of Americans favor Democrats in this November's congressional elections."
This is an example of baiting the hook with the truth and then hooking with a lie, all in the same sentence.
Just because I'm disappointed in President Bush's performance in the last year or so doesn't mean I'd vote for a Communistic, negative, destructive bed-wetter of a liberal Democrat.
BTW, who ever assigned red, the color of Communism and China to us Conservatives and independents? Take it off!
The greens [environmental wackos], the reds [Marxism lovers], the pinks [homosexual extremists], and other kindred colors are just brown shirts.
They are just genetically incapable of making a direct, honest statement.
Yes. But now we can have so much fun taunting the liberals with that famous ine from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine:
IT'S NO LONGER A BLUE WORLD, MAX!!
Better RED than DEAD!
LOL!
The Wash Post must be losing money hand over fist, to try such a desperate move, one that no doubt pains them greatly!
It's really up to the GOP to trumpet this fact. What I'm anxious about is that thus far the Republican Party seems incapable of promoting its own successes.
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