Blog Riot, I Wanna Riot! The Marcotte And McEwan Affair
You’ve probably heard by now, but the Edwards campaign is suffering because of its choice to hire Amanda Marcotte (Pandagon) and Melissa McEwan (Shakespeare’s Sister) to blog for them. What’s amazing is that Edwards even hired them–honestly–and that’s not a knock on them because I read both of their blogs. Most popular political bloggers are very smart, but almost all of them constantly push the envelope as far as the public discourse is concerned–particularly on social and political issues, and particularly in the case of feminist bloggers who regularly discuss sexual issues. Did the Edwards campaign really think about this seriously before hiring them? It doesn’t seem like it, because if they had, they wouldn’t have put Marcotte and McEwan in the position they have put them in by hiring and firing them and perhaps rehiring them again. Regardless, as Kevin Drum points out, if Edwards caves now, then campaigns can forget about hiring more bloggers like Marcotte and McEwan. They’ll have to hire boring bloggers or bloggers like Chris Bowers or Glen Greenwald who stick to the issues and keep the snark and the swearing to a minimum.
And one more thing–its important not to dismiss Marcotte and McEwan as masters of snark and profanity. Like most bloggers, they go for the jugular, but they have been fighting the good fight on women’s issues for years. Yes, they have used profanity from time to time, but we are living in a profane world where the likes of Michelle Malkin, Anne Coulter, and Debbie Schlussel can spew hate speech all over the radio and the internet each and every day and still have the temerity to call out Marcotte and McEwan. Bill Donohue, the president of the oh so ironically named organization the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights for fuck’s sake, is a regular purveyor of the profane, he just doesn’t use profanity while doing it. Using profanity, snark, and even being wrong sometimes, does not diminish their accomplishments. None of us are perfect or live in glass blogs. Marcotte and McEwan have devoted most of their time an energy to exposing the ultra right’s hypocrisy on social and political issues time and time again, and as far as I’m concerned, that can’t be done enough.
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks
[...] Oh, and master of sophistication, delicacy, and the tiny black dress Ann Coulter called Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards a faggot today. That’s an F-word too. She also endorsed Mitt Romney–I’m sure he’s happy about that right now. He must be thinking that his campaign is cursed. But my question is this: Is anyone on the conservative side going to do anything about Ann Coulter and her hate speech? // [...]
[...] Hmm, wasn’t that my strategy? We knew there was a reason we luked Edwards besides his populist message and in spite of the way his campaign handled the Marcotte/McEwan affair. Edwards must have listened to us during that exclusive interview when we suggested that if there ever was a debate in Nevada televised on Fox News that he should boycott it. Anyway, I bet when the Executive Board finds out about this the debate will be off after a short discussion during tomorrow’s conference call. Reid stepped in it big time with this one. [...]
Comments
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I always find your blog a fun read, but this time it seems even Marcotte and McEwen are backpedaling. From a joint Edwards release:
Amanda Marcotte:
“My writings on my personal blog, Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics. My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact.”
Melissa McEwen:
“Shakespeare’s Sister is my personal blog, and I certainly don’t expect Senator Edwards to agree with everything I’ve posted. We do, however, share many views - including an unwavering support of religious freedom and a deep respect for diverse beliefs. It has never been my intention to disparage people’s individual faith, and I’m sorry if my words were taken in that way.”
But that applies directly to their supposed bigotry and its what they had to say to keep their jobs.
There’s so much bigger of an issue than whether you agree or disagree with their positions. And that shouldn’t play a role in this at all. What should is that Edwards hired them knowing their positions and he liked them. I may get off track here because I do want to note that I keep reading things that makes it look like these two have “hurt the Edwards campaign” because of what they’ve written. That makes it sound like Edwards had NO IDEA who they were. Poppycock. He knew exactly who they were and chose to hire them. I applaud that in the most sincere way. This is a bold move by someone who keeps winding up on top of the new media embracing heap. I like that he has done thins, and I like what this does for campaigning in general. Not only is he really going for what makes blogs and blogging cool - actual opinions - he’s also giving us more information about himself. Anyone “offended” by what they have written can take it out on Edwards when they vote. But keep in mind that you’ll be casting a vote for someone else who has, at this point, offered you less insight into their real self than Edwards has. Until other politicians start taking on opinionated bloggers, we’ll be stuck with the PR-based robots we all know and love.
Okay, then Edwards should have come out in support of them immediately. He put them in an awful position by waiting so long to confirm that they were not fired. That was a disservice to them. The stall made it seem like Edwards was trying to decide whether he was “shocked” by what Marcotte and McEwan had written in the past so he could fire them or not. That’s what I think was wrong about the whole situation. I’m glad he didn’t back down.