Wolcott: Nixon in a pantsuit

Last month, The Village Voice gave us a look at the Right-Wing Blogosphere ("A confederacy of dunces", along with their headshots from Tom Tomorrow).

This month (actually, for the June issue), in Vanity Fair, James Wolcott pulls back the curtain to take a peek at the Liberal Blogosphere, warts and dirty laundry included, as well as a ton of snark.

When Democrats Go Post-al

Subtitled "The vicious Clinton-versus-Obama rupture at Daily Kos, the most activist site in the liberal blogosphere, reflects a party-wide split. What really rankles, as Democrats tear at one another, is the free pass they’ve given McCain—and the White House."

If you are already hip, than this is a pleasant stroll through the familiar, smiles and chuckles along the way ...

If you have never ventured off your AOL or Yahoo homepage, or looked beyond the boundaries of MySpace or Facebook, you're in for a loud, crashing, rollercoaster ride, that will leave you either shaking your head and running for the hills, or, or "Oh Boy, where do I sign up" ...

One passage I especially liked, for it nails HRC in a manner that seems so obvious, yet we missed it up until now;

For them, Hillary’s time had come, she had paid her dues, she had been thoroughly vetted, she had survived hairdos that would have sunk lesser mortals, and she didn’t let a little thing like being loathed by nearly half of the country bum her out and clog her transmission. Not since Nixon had there been such a show of grinding perseverance in the teeth of adversity, and Nixon in a pantsuit was never going to be an easy sell contrasted with the powerful embroidery of Obama’s eloquence—his very emergence on the political scene seemed like a feat of levitation. Hillary’s candidacy promised to make things better; Obama’s to make us better: outward improvement versus inward transformation. With Hillary, you would earn your merit badges; with Obama, your wings. Hillary’s candidacy was warmed-over meat loaf—comfort food for those too old or fearful to Dream.

Nixon in a pantsuit ...

Oh, how rich that is ...

If John McCain is the new Bob Dole, it makes for a wonderful yang to that ying that Hillary be the new Nixon.

Oh My!

Can't wait to hear her Checkers Speech.


Dissenting views, and non-Wolcott fans, here, here, here, here, here and here

This from Dan Collins (and be sure to click the link when he was in Wolcott's spotlight)

And one Bonus Link: Tinkerbell Meets Norma Rae - The Daily Kos Strike

Tinkerbell Meets Norma Rae - The Daily Kos Strike

How many Hillary Clintons does it take to screw in a light bulb"
"Why am I always the first one asked to screw in the light bulb?!"

Why aren't there any ice cubes in Hillary Clinton's house?
Hillary lost the recipe

How do you get Hillary Clinton out of the bathtub?
Throw her a bar of soap

What do you do if Hillary Clinton throws a grenade at you?
You pull the pin out and throw it back at her

How do you know if Hillary Clinton has been using the computer?
There's whiteout on the screen

OMG!

Some Daily Kos diarists have stopped writing!

We've bashed Hillary and Daily Kos diarists are stopping writing!

OMG!

Quick, everyone, start believing in Hillary! ... C'mon, you can do it ... If you start believing in Hillary, the Daily Kos diarists will start writing again ... Believe in Hillary ... That will get them writing again ... C'mon, start believing ... We need everybody to say they believe in Hillary ...We can't let these Daily Kos diaries die! ...

Shout it out and clap your hands - "I believe in Hillary!" ... "I believe in Hillary!" ...C'mon, shout it out ... "I believe in Hillary", "I believe in Hillary", "I believe in Hillary" ... Keep clapping your hands ... "I believe in Hillary" ... "I believe in Hillary" ...


















Feathers are flying out in the big, bad, blogosphere.

A band of 60+ Hillary Clinton supporters, who are Dkos diarists, are in a dither, that all the other kids in the sandbox don't like Hillary, they like the new kid, Obama, and they're kicking sand at the Hillary people.

Well, they're kicking sand at Hillary too, and the Hillary people don't like that very much.

From Alegre, who is apparently leading this "strike";

"I’ve decided to go on "strike" and will refrain from posting here as long as the administrators allow the more disruptive members of our community to trash Hillary Clinton and distort her record without any fear of consequence or retribution. I will not be posting at DailyKos effective immediately. I will not help drive up traffic or page-hits as long as my candidate – a good and fine DEMOCRAT - is attacked in such a horrid and sexist manner not only by other diarists, but by several of those posting to the front page."

(Remember, clap your hands and say "I believe in Hillary")

ABC News spoke with Markos Moulitsas;

UPDATE: I asked Kos himself, Markos Moulitsas, what he makes of all this.

His response: "First, these people should read up on the definition of 'strike.' What they're doing is a 'boycott.' But whatever they call it, I think it's great. It's a big Internet, so I hope they find what they're looking for."

But wait, it gets better.

More from Alegre;

"Until then, I’ll take up the WGA strike motto: "We write. You wrong." when it comes to DailyKos, and say the following to anyone reading this diary right now...

If you're sick of the way Hillary – a good and decent Democrat - has been vilified and attacked... if you've EVER recommended one of my dairies on this or any other site then please join me in this effort. Let's take a stand here and now and tell the world we will no longer remain silent in the face of the sexism, anger, irrational hate, lies and attacks against Hillary. Nor will we add to the bottom line of a site that continues to lead the charge in fueling it."

Hmmm ... I wonder, if Alegre stood on table (well, since this is an on-line thing, she'd have to use a video cam), a la Sally Field, in 'Norma Rae', holding up a handwritten "Hillary" sign, and slowly, Dkos diarists all across the land stopped tapping on their keyboards, until the entire blogosphere (or, their little slice of Daily Kos) fell silent?

(Remember, clap your hands and say "I believe in Hillary)

Oh, boy, this could get really nasty.

Mixing Norma Rae with Tinkerbell ... That could screw things up.

What if Norma Rae goes around and organizes all the little Tinkerbells and they gain concessions, power ...

And part of that is WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN HILLARY!

That it will be a violation, a crime, if we don't believe in Hillary! ... Oh, Jesus ...

Quick, everybody, stop clapping your hands, stop saying "I believe in Hillary" ... Don't do it .. Stop, immediately ... Stop, please ...Before it's too late!

"I don't believe in Hillary" ... "I don't believe in Hillary" ... "I don't believe in Hillary" ...


Bonus Tinkerbell Links

The MahaBlog: Oh, Please

Joe Gandelman/TMV: Daily Kos “Bloggers’ Strike” Shows Increasingly Bitter Obama Clinton Democratic Rift

Marc Ambinder: Pro-Hillary Writers "On Strike" At DailyKos

BradBlog: Writers Strike at Daily Kos? Try a Readers Strike...

Skippy the bush Kangaroo: writers who support the band rush on strike at skippy

Tom Watson: The Few, the Proud...the Clinton Bloggers


Bonus Bonus

While you're out on "strike", you Pro-Hillary Daily Kos diarists, see if you can come up with a better answer for this, than what your girl came up with ...

Hillary Clinton says Michigan Results are Fair! WTF?


Edward Copeland: A trip down Hillary lane -- 2007 edition, Part I

Edward Copeland: A trip down Hillary lane -- 2006 edition

Top Ten Cloves: If Hillary Clinton Is A Monster, The Movies That Would Be Made About Her

Hillary's Smelling Burning Rubber! Or: The Garlic Was Right - Hillary Has Built Her "Field of Voices"