halleluia! someone noticed us! yeah josh! validation!

I loved this part of the article:

In its January 2005 issue, The American Prospect ran a list titled, "Red-State Values: What really goes on in the morally elite states?" Here are some of the statistics from the list (emphases in original):

In red states in 2001, there were 572,000 divorces ... Blue states recorded 340,000

As of 2000, 37 states had statewide policies or procedures to address domestic violence ... All 13 that didn't were red states

The 5 states with the highest rates of alcohol dependence or abuse among 12- to 17-year-olds are also red states

Residents of the all-red Mountain States are the most likely to have had 3 or more sexual partners in the previous year ... Residents of all-blue New England are the least likely to have had more than 1 partner in that span

The per capita rate of gonorrhea in red states was 140 per 100,000 ... In blue states, it was 99 per 100,000

Take that, you divorced, wife-beating, gonorrhea-stricken drunks.

Your article makes Domenech’s point brilliantly. And so what? Why should we ignore the fact that red state voters are rubes, fools, and hate-mongers? Sorry if the truth hurts, man, but there you have it.

That said, I'm anxious to move to North Carolina in August. What? Saltwater that you can actually play around in? I'm there!

I as a "elitist liberal" will stop stereotyping and shoehorning knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing inbred Republicans the day they stop calling me a pinko, communist-loving, terrorist-appeasing, America-hating, Saddam-supporting, hippie.

It's a two-way street.

Right fucking on, Boston. It makes me furious that I'm expected to—what's the phrase?—watch what I say, watch what I do, in case I offend the same folks who call me names from the moment the sun comes up until the moment the sun sets. We're godless, we're homos, we hate America, we're not real Americans, we're not patriotic, blah blah blah.

Suggest to a red-state voter that it's not all that bright to vote against Dem politicians who want to make sure his kids have decent health care and schools because that Dem doesn't hate homos and flag burners enough and, whoa, you're accused of the sin of condescending to the rubes.

But the rubes are voting like morons, and they need to have that pointed out to them. If they don't like being thought of as rubes and idiots, let them stop voting like rubes and idiots.

Josh:
I don't find it the least bit ironic at all that they called you out for being elitist liberals. You are. I mean so what you invited Sharkansky to write some column for you? Is that supposed to balance things out or something? Everything i hear you spouting comes off as elitist liberal BS to me.

And Dan, your posting makes the point of the article.

And I think the point of Dan's post, "upforpeople", is he doesn't give a shit about the point of the article, and for good reason.

exactly. and so what? they don't give a shit about you either, and they have the presidency and both houses of congress. so you lose...

and guess what? with attitudes like dan's and your's porterhouse, you'll continue to lose -- because the dems will not attract enough of the moderate r's or independents into their fold to gain a majority...

there's your "good reason" for caring about the point, dummy

"Know thy enemy, know thyself. And you will win a thousand battles."

Is it me, or is anyone else sick of Josh Fiet's constant masturbatory self-agrandizing?

I'm not anywhere near sick of it.

Dear UPFORTHEPEOPLE,

Before you hopefully go fuck yourself,
In the end it is you that will lose, conservatives always have and always will (until they finally nuke the planet in their last desperate and brilliant act). There have always been small minded conservative fuck heads messing up the world and we have dealt with them again and again, the Civil Rights movement, sufferage, workers rights, etc, etc. all those horrible liberal elitist movements that are the only reason our world is even liveable. The Governer Wallaces of the world can stand in the way and holler their red neck dumb ass shit as loud as they want, but progrees always bowls them over in the end. So you got one of your best and brightest in the whitehouse, congrats, he is going down in history as the biggest clown to ever hold the office. Good luck in your futile struggle to cling to your narrow vision of a world with one race, one religion, one sexuality, etc. As it all collapses in front of you that's me you'll hear laughing my ass off at you and how stupid you were to think you had won.

I think SLOG is the only blog that has commented on my article so far. Er, thanks?

First, to respond to Josh: I'm definately not "making fun" of The Stranger. I wouldn't do that. I like the publication too much. And it's an interesting counter-example you bring up. I don't think it really invalidates my point, but, nonetheless, point taken.

Dan: I don't know if you're responding to my article or just responding to the general attitude some liberals (and conservatives, for that matter) express. I don't really suggest in my article that you should "watch what you say, watch what you do, in case you offend the same folks who call you names from the moment the sun comes up until the moment the sun sets." Do it, that's fine.

The only thing is that it's not all conservatives who think and act that way (the first example that pops into my mind is Andrew Sullivan). My article, first and foremost, is about conservatives in the media, and what type of conservatives one boss at one blue-state media outlet is looking to hire to be his in-house right-winger. The world needs less shrill, right-wing blowhards in the media. But for that to happen, the media gatekeeps have to accept that there are conservative pundits out there who aren't shrill blowhards. Not happening.

Anyway, bring it. Tell me why I'm wrong. Just don't, you know, make fun of me.

Rob

Oh lordy, i accidentally posted under the name Milosevic. I used it ealier today and it stuck on my profile. Just want to be sure any Kosovars or Bosnians didn't get their feelers hurt.

Milosevic/Longball,

Who said anything about me being conservative?

For the record, I'm not, you big dope.

My point is that Dems have taken such a left turn that they've lost revelance to other folks they once attracted (and need to again if they are to win back the White House and/or Congress).

And your wingnut examples of the rightest of the right conservatives -- George Wallace etc -- only proves the point: You paint all REpublicans with a broad brush and call them fascists, etc. That's not going to do it, my friend. That's not helping the cause, at all.

In fact, it's Dems like U who are part of the problem -- and, I daresay, keeping whackjobs like Bush in the White House.

Umm, did i call them facist? well, if the shoe fits... I am pretty confident i'm not the reason W is in the white house. As far as the Dem's not attracting enough moderates, c'mon! the Dems ARE moderates. They are liberal compared to the party of Strom Thurmond and Rick Santorum, but they really don't lean much further then the center. The more they buy into the marginalizing of liberal views to attract borderline conservaitves, the more they abandon the liberal base they are supposed to represent. We are moving closer and closer to 2 republican parties, one bad, one REALLY bad.

Where was this big "left turn" you speak of the Dems taking when the Iraq war vote came up? Or the Alito nomination? Are they seeking to even censure W for the laundrey list of shit he's done? They seem to be the same quiet, don't rock the boat, compromising moderates they've always been.

Spunk E. Pooster:

I'm with you, brother. Totally sick of the self-back patting crapola.

So was the Shark fired for not living up to your stated expectations, Dan? Or did you just get tired of him only writing about vote counting in the wake of the 04 governor's election?

No, I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I'm curious.

I heard Shark was only ever paid to report on the election debacle and, once that had run its course, he was expected to go.

I miss him. Certainly don't agree with (most of) his politics but it was funny - I know a ton of people who said bitterly "I AM NOT READING THE STRANGER UNTIL THEY SHITCAN THAT GUY!" and yet, the first thing they talked about when the Stranger came out on Wednesday was 1) last days and 2) what Sharkansky had to say this week, often followed by "so I am DEFINITELY not reading the stranger anymore!".

And um, hi... did anyone notice that Rob Anderson posted here today?

Rob, don't mind the snub. Some crazyperson and/or twelve year old have been hijacking comments threads today, so you may have been overlooked.

I thought it was a great idea to have a Token Republican writing in the Stranger. Get that dissenting right wing opinion in there and just watch the readership flip out. My favorite Shark diss was, "Since when did your Drunk of the Week get to write a column?"

The so called Shark is a very far right verion of home frown fascism.

His blog is a horror of racism, hompohobia, corporte pandring, anti labot, anti enviro ---- talikg points from James Dobson and Tom Delay et al.

Who misses that? Christ, get a political grip. The Stanger does have some editorial values, like Anti homophobia. Anti racism. Pro clear air and water. Fair voting for all.

Shark is the spawn of Craswell and Carlson, times 666.

Thanks for the shout out, Glancer. I was starting to think only I could read my comment.

I'll try not to take it personally and stop refreshing the page every thirty seconds. My finger is getting sore anyway.

Rob

rob is wrong. look at fox. or at limbaugh. or at the spawn of limbaugh. that's not a liberal charicature of the right wing promoted by a blue state liberal editor. that's what happens when the right wing owns the media!

also: shark is an ass. you get no tolerance or diversity points for airing the voices of ideologues who just happen to tow the party line 99 percent of the time.

WF: It's not surprising that a shrill, right-wing television station hires shrill, right-wing pundits. You're right, that is what happens when the right wing owns the media.

The entire point of my article is that the same thing can happen when the left wing owns the media. As I've already said to some of my critics in TNR's comments section, if I had to pick one side of the political spectrum to blame for the state of right-wing punditry, I'd obviously pick the right. That's pretty intuitive. But what the Domenech affair has shown is that liberals buy into the stereotype--and even perpetuate it when they have the chance. And that's too bad. The state of political discourse in this country is bad enough already.

Rob