On The (I'm Pleased To Say) Liberal Blogosphere

I've been hearing a lot about traditional media doing their best to label blog writers and readers as liberals. For instance, several major newspapers — along with their Republican puppetmasters — have taken to parroting the term "the liberal blogosphere." To wit, AMERICAblog notes:

They (traditional journalists) also tell us that blog readers are all angry, far-left, party activists who are unreasonable and will only accept the most extreme of political views.

Personally, I don't take umbrage to this one bit. Hurling the term "liberal" around as an invective might pack a punch for an older generation, but people my age don't seem to have a visceral reaction to it. Ask some of the 20-somethings you know and see what their reaction to the word is (especially after George Clooney's recent declarations after he won an Oscar). I predict that the word, in time, will lose whatever special punch it packs for some folks and that labeling a political rival as "liberal" — as Republicans are wont to do — will soon become an irrelevant, ineffective tactic.

Still, despite some folks' misgivings, I have to say the blogosphere I know predominantly is liberal. I say this after visiting a healthy series of popular blogs to research what the best sites were like. The most popular and effective ones had, indeed, a liberal tone — and I think that's something about which we should not be ashamed at all. While the conservatives have exerted every effort to monopolize radio — a stuffy, aged vehicle — left-wingers have been drawn to new media. That seems perfectly fitting — almost tautological — to me.

Many of the most popular "liberal" blogs are attractively designed, information-packed and written by people with impressive academic and professional credentials who have backgrounds in journalism, politics, law, etc. This contrasts with a preponderance of right-wing blogs, many of which are rife with typos, poor grammar, faulty and/or contrived logic and stone-age opinions. Many of the right-wing blogs are simply drawn-out rants. They are not illuminating; they are not thought-provoking. They are smug, glib and disingenuous. For a perfect example, see www.michellemalkin.com. (Fair warning: If you have one of those sickness bags from the airlines on hand, you might think about grabbing it before heading over there.)

Liberal blogosphere? I'm pleased to agree. Liberals simply seem to know how to effectively embrace new technology, employ it to craft enlightening and dialectic dialogue and — subsequently — use it to our advantage. No wonder right-wingers feel the desperate urge to try and stigmatize it.