Here’s as much of it as I can stand to listen to a second time and transcribe. I really think Gibson is not a nice man. And since I’m trying to give up hating people for Lent (okay, maybe just “cut back”), I probably shouldn’t listen to him too much.
If I had to spend much more time enduring his snide stereotyping of “the left”, I might start swearing like a — like a Maryscott.
John “War on Christmas” Gibson: Maryscott, the reason you’re on today, is that nefarious character you were once hooked up with–
Maryscott O’Connor: “Friendly with”– let’s put it that way
Gibson: This is Mar-kos Moulit-sas, also known at Kos, who runs the big far left blog–
MSOC: Oh my god, I knew you were going to say it! Please don’t call that blog far left!
Gibson: Why not?
MSOC: Because, listen, until a few years ago, that guy was a registered Republican. If you’re going to call that blog anything, call it a centrist blog! He’s not liberal!
…
Gibson: You have ended up in a disagreement with him–
MSOC: I was bound to end up in a disagreement with him. Left-wingers do not like centrists. I have more in common with the right wing than I do with the centrists.
Gibson: That’s why call here all the time.
MSOC: Right wingers are ideologues.
Gibson: Centrists are compromisers and appeasers and sellouts.
…
(About being cut off the DKos blogroll)
Gibson: And he did that because he was mad at you over something.
MSOC: No, he wasn’t mad at me. He did that because he wants a seat at the table. You know the name of his book?
Gibson: Yeah, yeah, “Crashing the Gate”.
MSOC: He crashed the gate, he got a seat at the table, and then he locked the gate back up! He doesn’t want anything to do with people who actually have principles!
…He wants to be in with the big boys. He wants to be the establishment.
Gibson: In terms of getting the troops excited, the blogging world is a “left of center” operation.
MSOC: Oh, right–’cause Little Green Footballs isn’t–
Gibson: It’s not as big as Daily Kos. You don’t see major conservative Republican politicians posting on Little Green Footballs.
MSOC: You couldn’t. Little Green Footballs is full of vile people.
Gibson: My point is, you have Ted Kennedy on the Daily Kos and John Kerry on the Daily Kos, and that nebbish Harry Reid, and all these people on the Daily Kos, which is sort of bowing down to–
MSOC: –the netroots–
Gibson: –the nutroots, right. (OMG, you are so freaking clever, aren’t you? I bet all the other boys at your middle school are in stitches when you tell those jokes. Even more than when you make the milk come out of your nose at lunchtime.)
But I want to know something. Now that you’re mad at him, tell me some good dirt!
MSOC: I don’t think there’s any “good” dirt. I don’t think he’s doing anything illegal or immoral or unethical–I think he’s a putz!
Yup, I think so too. But I’m not mad at him. I’m just tired of him being in the way of people who want to talk about issues like election irregularities, impeachment, or whatever else might scare off deep pockets advertisers. And I’m tired of the farce that posting on his blog can be considered “netroots outreach” by politicians. It isn’t. It’s a gated community. And since Markos has indeed secured himself, but not the rest of us, a “seat at the table”, I’m just not all that impressed. It’s not real outreach, it’s just for show.
Our elected and hoping-to-be elected officials are only willing to connect with the netroots by posting on a blog that is one man’s privately owned business? One where the the top ad spot goes for $9000 a week? That’s not outreach–it’s theater.
Pathetic, crappy theater. And it makes a mockery of the true democratic potential so many of us see in the internet. I became active politically because I cared enough about reversing the damage caused by the Bush administration that I was willing to give up some of my precious, limited free time to do whatever I could that might help make a real difference. I don’t think it’s worth spending precious time and energy in order to play some 21st century version of Dungeons and Dragons where I can pretend I’m a bit player in this “gate crashing” fantasy.
