Why do you read this blog?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
89 Comments
Recent Posts
- Day 14: Louisiana Senator Approvingly Compares Trump to Stalin
- Day 13: Elon Musk Flexes His Muscles
- Day 12: While Elon Musk Takes Over, We Podcast With Driftglass and Blue Gal
- Day 11: Harm of Fascist Regime’s Foreign Aid Freeze Comes Into View
- Day 10: The Fascist Regime Blames a Plane Crash on Nonwhite People
I read this blog because you write the most consistently lucid and informed political analysis on the ‘net, Martin. Our pragmatic views of politics align well, too.
I get to post to the front page. (bada-bing!)
But seriously, you’re a great political analyst Boo, even if sometimes I disagree with you.
Because I need someone who knows our political system better than I do to analyze situations in real-time, and to give me reason to see purpose in continuing to believe that we can achieve stuff through the political process.
Besides, I have plenty of radicals to read who have no use for the political process if I need cogent reality slapped into my face; it’s harder to find people who analyze the political process correctly.
Oh, also, the commenters here are better than any other blog. It’s not even close.
I’ll send some of my tax return your way.
Because you have a pragmatic line into whats going onto American politics. And your politcs are well thought out so I can say that its well thought out even if I disagree with you, which is more often then not.
But frankly, your blog is not full of bullshit, and if you feed your brain bullshit, bullshit comes out, so I come here for my own sanity.
I won’t find posts here that are written just to get page views. You don’t do poutrage.
Well, Seabe stole some of my thunder. But here are my reasons.
Most political blogs are reactive. “Here is what happened, and here is what I think it means”. That occurs here, too. But there is also an analysis of the context of what happens, how it affects what might happen in the future and some very reliable and accurate crystal-ball gazing about the long term ramifications of events. It is the most forward-looking blog I have ever run across.
I really do think there is a collective insight into events here that is like no other political blog. I can honestly say that I feel like it informs me better than almost any single source that I know of. There are a lot of very good political minds in the progressive blogosphere, and I depend on them as well. But what I get out of this site is simply better than anything I have found anywhere else in the eight or nine years I have been wading through political blogs.
And without a doubt, there are no better commenters to be found anywhere than right here. They are really the mortar that holds this structure together that you have built.
I really enjoy Daily Kos, but there are times when the people there are more interested in fighting each other than in analyzing the situation and figuring out what we can do next. I don’t have time for that nonsense. I can come here to have a discussion in which good, intelligent people can disagree, but constructively. You always give a good accounting of what has happened, and what the results might be, and the comments fill in the details and other points of view. But it is always polite and thoughtful. That’s a rare thing.
Because you’re smart and you know what you’re talking about, and you don’t just check your gut and assume that your ideological assumptions are the best way to understand politics.
You are rational.
StevenD sorta gets on my nerves, but in between his Chicken Littleness, he gives a lot of good info.
Now someone has to say nice things about Steve.
I love Steve. I agree with him a damn sight more than I agree with Boo!
But I read this because I rarely agree with Boo … at first. So I always learn something. It’s the only blog I’ve given money to in the past three years.
Nah, I do get on people’s nerves sometimes. Though my primary topic areas, Climate Change, police brutality, guns, Christian fundamentalists, our social safety net, etc. lend themselves to a rant more than what you do Boo. That said, it’s hard not to rant and scream about a lot of the stuff I come across. I don’t do it in my personal life, so I have to get it out somewhere, lol.
You know, to be honest I’ve wondered sometimes why you have Steve as your guest poster on this blog. I love his posts, as I note in another reply here, but they do seem incongruous with yours, Boo,
But, maybe that’s a key tell. You’re Joisey through and through, Boo. Blunt, to the point, compliments extremely rare. Yet, you select as your second poster someone who is not at all like you. Oh, I know you posted in the distant past that you and Steven agree on most things, and I don’t doubt that. But for readers we could read just the first paragraph of a new post and I’ll bet 99% of us would identify the author immediately. You two are very different.
And, yet, you chose Steven. Underneath that Joisey exterior there is a true progressive – unlike “true conservatives” you see value in people who are not like you and promote them. Very appreciated.
.
Freedom to express a different opinion and get an honest comment. No bullying what passes on other blogs.
I do express my wish for bloggers to write a diary more often. The participation of European bloggers is minimal and US foreign policy is part of my interest to participate.
And…sad as it may seem to me sometimes, this “leftiness” brigade is the closest thing to a real progressive force that remains in the United States.
It means well. That’s almost more than one can hope for now. One s;ip of the PermaGov media’s balancing act…and this will happen, it’s just a matter of when…and the nasty little wizards behind the big hulking media screen will become obvious to all of us here.
It’d be a beginning…
Maybe the “Anonymous” people will eventually publish the real deal. Or maybe there’s some whistleblower lurking down there in the guts of the machine who will effectively out its inner workings.
Or maybe…worst case scenario…said machine will just grind to a freaking halt in the face of some sort of real disaster and the massively richer equivalents to the rats that have left smaller sinking ships in the underdeveloped world will be plainly seen swimming away to their The Boys from Brazil-like hidey holes.
Whatever.
Some time, your little frog marched Rove look-alike will have a very different set of faces attached to it.
Let us pray it’s not a disaster-driven march.
Let us pray.
Later…
AG
You expressed my feelings perfectly. I will try to diary more.
Some of the best “reads” on the internet were on this blog.
There is an intelligence here that isn’t found just anywhere, and that goes for everyone here. I’ve been here a long time, pre-pie-fight, and have no intention of going anywhere else for excellent commentary.
Damn, I had forgotten about the pie fight.
You have forgotten about the pie fight?
I haven’t. It was the end of my faith in a “progressive” left and the beginning of my fight against the PermaGov takeover of all sides of the political discussion.
It’s almost all “center” now, the United States
U.S Today center.
Meaningless, boilerplate rhetoric center.
Ridiculous “debates” center where anything more than about 3 degrees off center in any direction is ridiculed by the media as insane. Ridiculed into non-existence. Disappeared.
The rest?
Either helpless because of lack of numbers or so down that it no longer gives a shit.
So it goes.
Thank you Kos. For the wakeup call.
Later…
AG
Way back in ’06 I identified much foresight in your posts. Also your generational perspective resembles mine as we’re about the same age. I haven’t always agreed with your analysis but appreciate the skill of your presentation.
When I was actively blogging, x-posting here was good for my traffic. I’m not active anymore but still lurk often as there is much value from this community. This community doesn’t have much of the self-absorbed meta drama that often exists on other sites.
Hence one can read a provocative post from an Arthur Gilroy absent bullying tactics. As much as I come here to read Booman or Steven D, I’ll review the diaries to see if Arthur Gilroy has a post. I used to read him at My Left Wing and even as I may disagree with him, his insights have influenced my perspective. And later on I come to realize I don’t disagree with him so much after all. There is a diversity and energy here that brings me back to lurk at least once a day.
Thank you, ILJ.
After a while, I’m not nearly as far out as I sometimes sound.
My music’s like that, too.
Sigh.
Later…
AG
Bet On It:)
Yep AG, most people realize after being here for a while that there are some whose perspective is like an old pair of shoes. They seem a bit of a pain in the beginning when you first try them on, but once you give yourself a little “breaking in time” for the unfamiliarity and newness, you find they are not quite so bad after all. 🙂
Heh. Well, he doesn’t constantly insult you. But I know what you mean.
For sure. And you know, of course, even a well broken-in shoe can sometimes give you a painful blister at the most inopportune time.
i am trying to reach you, Booman.
You are better than what you are laying out here. I know it and I think that you know it too. I think that many people in the government and political fields know in their hearts that they should be standing up instead of going with the so-called flow, but their minds…and in the interests of self-preservation, I am sure…push them back on the safe, logical course.
Only…that course is often wrong.
A few words from a spokeperson for our sole sponsor:
Or:
You choose.
From the heart.
Imagine it was you and your children who were being targeted by the Schumers and the drones.
It’s that simple.
What goes around comes around.
Your choice.
All of our choices.
AG
This is the best political blog I know that is biased in favor of Obama. Most of the progressive blogs that are any good are more critical of him than you are, so I come here to get the other side of the story. You also have an excellent mastery of practical politics, though I think this sometimes bounds your thinking too much, as with your “visceral” objections to transparent money-printing.
Because you bring insight into the issues that are important to me. And, with Al Giordano no longer focused on USA politics, this bog is a breath of fresh air and sanity in an insane world.
It’s the frog bog.
Ughh…A bog blog. I guess climate change has turned it from a pond into a bog. Scientists are always saying we can never know for certain it’s effects. It’s reach is apparently limitless!!
To be involved.
Most people think they use the internet for information, particularly places like enthusiast sites (car forums, for instance). But it’s really to connected, to know you are among like minded souls.
The internet is all about community, everything else is a ruse.
.
Intelligent and (relatively) respectful discussion between the establishment and progressive wings of the liberal blogosphere, with a high signal to noise ratio.
Community, kindred spirits, shared dreams, compassion, flashes of wisdom, justice, fun, love.
Everybody’s gotta be somewhere, right?
I’m usually here if I have to be online.
Because there’s a high respect for facts in both your posts and the comments.
Because you write intelligently and refrain from the cheap shots at our opponents.
Because you have a core sense of justice and logic.
Because when you write a post that strays from any one of the above, I feel I need to be here to appeal to your better judgment.
Your writing and analysis are intelligent, knowledgeable and lucid, readable, unpretentious, absolutely. And because the diary American Fascism has been on top of the recommended list in a special field of its own for ages. No one has yet commented on it, curiously enough. One day I might. I need to add that, to my mind, you’re a bit too much of a Rockefeller Republican of the Nelson brand. In that respect you’re in sync with the President. Luckily Arthur Gilroy keeps all of us on our toes.
I sometimes think about when I would have become a Democrat if I had been born in 1850 or 1875 or 1900. You know, I would have been a Republican when the party started out. And I don’t think that racist Wilson would have gotten me to abandon Teddy’s Progressive Party. It could have happened in 1920. It could have been 1932. It could have been 1960. I think I would have seen Nixon as the last straw and seen some hope that JFK might stand up to the racists who dominated his party.
As long as there was a progressive wing to the GOP and Jim Crow was still enforced by the Dems, I think I might have more comfortable in the GOP. Ending Jim Crow would have been a bigger deal to me than anything in the New Deal, frankly. It’s not that I wouldn’t have supported FDR’s efforts, it’s just that I am not sure I could have been a member of his party.
I agree with you. And I think you lined up the dates cogently. However, I probably would have hopped with FDR, in 1932. At the latest, 1936. I mean, maybe I wouldn’t have been a Democrat, but I would have voted for him.
During the screening of Lincoln when Stevens asks, “The modern travesty of Thomas Jefferson’s political organization to which you have attached yourself like a barnacle has the effrontery to call itself The Democratic Party. You are a Dem-o-crat. What’s the matter with you? Are you wicked?” I couldn’t help but think, “Do most of the people in this theater who are laughing at this line realize Stevens is talking about the modern Republicans, just in a different era?”
This community is my daily fix of relative sanity in a political world gone insane. Thank you all for caring enough to spend time here and thanks, Booman, for the enlightenment and keeping the joint open.
Most of what I read online is cynical, whether snark, or left-paranoid, or hypocritical. Here is where I keep coming for permission to believe Obama is not a mass murderer, for one thing, but beyond that because you have a remarkable gift for being honest and direct without being an idiot. I learn and become a better person.
Most of it has already been said. I would add that you have a vibrant and original voice as a political writer. Down to earth, comfortable in the hood, and short because you cut to the essential question or issue. You are transparent about what you know and dont know. Markos used to write like this sometimes but has lost his realism. I love a pair of sentences like, “If you know a guy will bet everything on a pair of jacks, pretty soon you’ll have all his money. It’s that simple.” Fun and true.
Well, bro….
I have ignored much, as any big bro will do…
But this is among the most thoughtful a reasoned places on the inner webs. Doesn’t mean you aren’t occasionally completely full of shit though. :)1
You’re one of the best commentators and writers out there. Easy.
Because you have good insights into the way the folks in DC are thinking about whatever it is they are doing that oftentimes run counter to my intuitions.
And because of the commenters here who often provide an even different perspective.
And because Oui is one of the best news aggregators around.
And because this is the easiest place to find Arthur Gilroy’s riffs.
To read good analysis that I don’t see elsewhere. Oh, and the Finny photos as well.
You really are amongst the best, BooMan.
Don’t forget Boran’s paintings. 🙂
Thanks!
I do NOT have an Ottoman.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE KID?
this blog is more often right than it is wrong.
It’s a community, almost a family. You can have crazy relatives, but they are still your relatives. You can have crazy neighbors, but if they mean well, they are still your neighbors. Ive sort of given up on changing anyone’s opinion. The Voice is still echoing in a Wilderness. Still, I promised Oui upstream that I’d write a diary more often. It’s tough right now while working seven days a week.
I understood the Boo Trib had a reputation of holding a sellout centrist POV. It made me reluctant to read you very often. Indeed, I’m to the left of your POV (Steve is a good antidote for that!), and I despise Third Way with the heat of a thousand suns, etc.
Then I started hanging out, and some things happened to my perceptions of the Frog Pond, making it my current go-to blog:
– Your pragmatism is delivered with two important ingredients: a history of predicting election and legislative outcomes very well, and a level of hope which maintains my enthusiasm for my own professional and personal political organizing. It also offers me thoughtful ideas on how to be an effective activist.
I don’t want to name many other blogs as my current examples of How To Do It Wrong; after all, my views can and will adjust in coming months and years. But, for one conventional exemplar of HTDIW: I am very concerned about the deep dive in our civil liberties, the oppressive power of the security state, from raiding of private online information to increased use of tazers and more, and the Orwellian justifications for our use of extrajudicial assassinations and “accidental” killings with drones. All that said, Greenwald depresses the everloving shit out of me, and even more importantly, I’ve come to believe that his methods of arguing for his points are counterproductive to actually creating the policy changes Glenn so badly wants.
Do me one small favor. Try to use the word ‘organizer’ rather than ‘activist.’ An organizer gets things done by definition, while an activist can do nothing more than stand around with a sandwich board or go to protests.
I suppose this site earned its reputation as a ‘pro-Obama’ blog during the first two years of his presidency, but I am not sure it earned any reputation for ‘centrism’ or selling out.
I worked hard and organized to get Obama elected president, and I was not about to turn on him because I didn’t like everyone in his cabinet or his chief of staff. My goal was to help him be a successful president and to see him reelected. I criticized him on a regular basis, but constructively and without harping.
I’d regularly have commenters tell me that I was in the bag for the president, but they’d forget that I had posted about the very thing they thought I was letting slide. It’s just that I said what I had to say and moved on.
I can guarantee you that it is noticed when I am critical, but that’s precisely because I am seen as fair, even in the White House press office.
When I said this about Harry Reid in May 2009, no one called me a centrist or a sell out and I heard directly from Reid’s staff that they heard it loud and clear.
I get you about the “organizer” point. I am on the organizer side of the ledger you diagram there. Formed a coalition which saved the only hospital in my town from unneccessary closure; have helped organize members in my Union to fundraise and volunteer to win elections and legislative campaigns; other things as well. I still have a world to learn.
From my experiences, I don’t agree that you’ve run a centrist sellout blog at all. That was just overwrought crap some people wrote at the further-left sites I habituated more often in the past.
I was around when you wrote that Reid piece; I liked it back then. I’m glad you heard from Harry’s office. But you know what? Guantanamo’s still open, and McConnell left his grimy footprints on Reid’s face and chest again this week, even though Harry had talked tough about filibuster reform for months before caving.
And then, the very next day, the circuit court moves to take away the President’s ability to make recess appointments. The NLRB, CFPB, SEC, ATF, and any other agency the modern GOP is ideologicaly opposed to, can now be prevented from truly functioning at all, maximizing the value of Reid’s cave to the GOP. We can go on about how Harry may or may not have had the votes for the Merkley filibuster reforms, but we’ve read enough to get real: Reid OPPOSED the Merkley reforms and led enough of his caucus to oppose them as well.
Anyway, I like the work you’re doing here, but don’t use your excellent use of vitriol nearly four years ago to be too self-congratulatory. Harry’s the Honey Badger to us on a lot of shit.
Surprisingly, the most likely thing that could save us from filibuster-delivered regulatory agency clusterfucks is Roberts’ Supreme Court. When the Court summarily tossed out the NLRB rulings earlier in Obama’s Presidency because their board was operating short of a quorum, the Solicitor General mentioned during oral that the NLRB’s Board was short because of the GOP Senate’s extreme intransigence in rejecting all the POTUS’ nominees.
The Chief Justice himself said in response, “Well, why doesn’t the President use his recess appointment powers? That would take care of the problem.” Given that statement, I find it difficult to believe that Roberts and any plausible Supreme Court majority could support Friday’s circuit court finding. Hoping to be right here.
Because you & Steven & the diarists value context and everyone is willing to pitch in to round out the conversation. It’s also a relief to know there won’t be any major flame throwing on any given day. It’s just good stuff, ok?
I’d second most of the positive comments here; also I lived in Princeton while getting my doctorate, then lived in Germantown for 5 years or so. Also I’m a painter and no where else that I’m aware of is there a Saturday Painting Palooza. From high school on I spent most of my adult thinking-and-feeling life involved in literary, artistic concerns. It was only as an expat, beginning around the 2000 “election” that I started paying attention to real politics (at the time I was also speedily gaining distance from the academic world, which helped). I found that I didn’t know how to think about politics; the blogosphere has been a great help and I settled here among a few other places for the reasons the commenters have laid out.
There are times when you stray into literature or music, and I mostly disagree (and have confidence in my disagreements); that experience causes some doubt, by extension, about what kind of political judgment you have. But I think Socrates was right when he said that just because you know one thing well and can talk about it, doesn’t mean you another thing equally well and can talk about it.
So many thanks from your grateful student in politics.
For the perceptiveness and depth of the analysis.
Good question. Seriously, it made me think about blog visiting habits, which is a good thing. I have no idea if any of this pertains to anyone else, but here’s my brain dump:
There are 10 political blogs I read regularly (at least once per week) – one of those is Kos which these days is often just for the Tom Tomorrow comic. You are on my short list of 5 blogs to visit daily – and Digby would be there too (for her great writing) only her stories of real wingnut actions piss me off so much my psyche can only take it once per week or so. If Billmon were still posting (except his infrequent stuff on Kos) or Guillard were still alive they also would be on the list. I also miss MWO.
Like Joe of Lowell, one of my other frequent blogs is LGM. The other three are Krugman, Atrios and Climate Progress.
So what does that say about me? For one, I’m tired of trying to figure out how wingnuts think. 10 years ago there would have been some conservative blogs on that list, now no more.
Second, I only have so much time. There are a ton of great blogs that I like but don’t visit much due to time: Calculated Risk, Crooked Timber, Balloon Juice, Juan Cole, Real Climate. I miss when Neiwart had his own blog. But at some point I settled on a core of blogs.
Looking at that group of core blogs I notice some common themes: First, you all post a LOT – usually many times per day. Second, you each have different focus areas. There is certainly some overlap, and it’s hard to put into words what LGM or Boo is about since there is so much variety. Krugman has an economics focus and approach, with some political analysis from the econ side. Climate Progress has an obvious specialty (near and dear to my heart), as did Orcinus when Neiwart posted there. Atrios has a short blurb about everything, sometimes with pithy commentary, though I get bored with all the “More Thread” posts he has. LGM hits a lot of areas, but very strong on legal and history (both fun to read) and extremely fun when they get into sports.
But what about Boo? Boo hits a very broad spectrum of progressive/liberal politics, which means there are almost always topics of interest. Lots of links, which means (like Atrios) Boo (and Steven D) have found interesting stuff which I don’t have to search for. And … and I guess here is the kicker … although we are on the same side I often don’t agree with Boo which means it makes me think and gives me reason to comment. And for whatever reason I comment on only two blogs, and this one the most.
What’s LGM?
Laywers, Guns, & Money.
Thanks.
Intelligent, informed commentary on the news and the opportunity to discuss things in an open and collegial atmosphere. The way it’s set up, threads stay live a relatively long time, which allows for further thoughts and exchanges. I learn a lot from the overall dialog. It’s been years and BT is still my favorite political blog.
Having come to this party late, I can only echo comments others have made re: excellent, pragmatic analysis.
In 2007, I found Al Giordano and was a regular on his blog, The Field. Like you, he knew his stuff. After the election, Giordano refocused his energies elsewhere and somehow I found your blog. You remind me a lot of Al in terms of your insightfulness, but I prefer your blog overall because you’re consistently respectful of all opinions plus you bring humor to politics.
There are many intelligent voices here. I don’t agree with all of them. Sometimes I don’t even agree with you. I mostly skip over Steven’s screeds. Nothing personal; he’s just not my cup of tea. I think he’d be more at home on Dailykos, but I have no objection to his continuing to post here so long as I won’t get quizzed on his view of things.
I gave you a “4” rating but just want to note I like Steven D’s posts. Especially those on climate. I can see why Steven D and Booman seem incongruous some of the time, but I hope they both stay.
I don’t see us as incongruous at all.
I followed the same path as you; however, I used a different name on The Field, unlike some of the old Fieldhands here. Al had a link to Booman Tribune on his blog. That is how I found Boo. Been here ever since. No drama or cult mentality, just excellent and thoughtful political analysis. Also, this blog keeps me politically sane and I appreciate the high level of civil discourse exhibited in the posts and comments. A bit of a rarity today.
Well, what the others have said: The knowledge and reasoning that goes into your analysis and your organizer point of view. I like that you really know US history and the discussion threads are great also. I agree with Steven’s point of view and issues, though I don’t comment much.
I came here because I read somewhere that you posted reasonable, informed, literate opinions. And I’ve found that to be true (except possibly on the $1T Pt coin ;-).
One reason why I come back is that the comments generally stay on-topic. E.g. I rarely even try to read the comments at Atrios because it’s all “inside baseball” stuff that has little to do with anything. It’s just barely above the comments at Wonkette (a site I love for the snark).
The pond/bog here is also small and that’s a good thing. I spend too much time at Balloon-Juice, and I enjoy many of the regulars there, but if you’re not in the first 30 minutes of comments, things wander off topic and 200+ comments later nobody cares whatever it is you (or I anyway) might say…
Of course, attempting to comment on Krugman’s blog is pointless (as far as having a discussion) due to the moderation delay. :-/
I like that you share your knowledge of the nitty-gritty of national campaigns with us (the way Kay does on Ohio campaigns at Balloon-Juice). It’s important for us to know that campaigns don’t win because of great rhetoric or great policies or fired-up commenters or lots of money – it’s real people working in the trenches to get voters to the polls that matters most.
Extreme Poutrage or OMG DRONZE or Obummer Isn’t Worth My Vote or whatever is tiring to me these days. It’s lazy and treats readers like idiots, IMHO. (E.g. the choice isn’t between DRONZE and nothing.) Blogs that do that may get a lot of clicks for a while, but they won’t have any real impact, and will fade away when someone louder comes along.
We can all see things that we would like to change if only the other side weren’t such idiots. But this is nothing new. Life and politics are complicated. We have to learn how to get along without destroying our institutions and economy in the process. Sometimes that means a decade or more in the wilderness, with victory consisting mainly of preventing the idiots from burning it all down. It’s frustrating and aggravating, but that’s the way it goes. I think you understand and present opinions that take account of that complexity better than other places I’ve found in cyberspace.
So, that’s why I come here (probably not as often as I should).
Thanks for keeping the light on.
Cheers,
Scott.
I have been reading your blog for what seems like a couple of years, but I am not sure. You are on my daily must read list.
I have never commented, and I hate to admit it, but I just noticed that there are diaries written by members of this community. . . I tend to ignore the right and left columns of blogs as they are so often filled up with advertisements.
I came to your blog quite a while back from a comment in another blog, I don’t remember which one. I read the article, then some of the older entries. I was impressed with your intellect, logic, grasp of politics and the way you express all of the above.
I do not always agree, but appreciate the way you present your thoughts and information. Even when I do not agree, I can understand and appreciate your position.
As stated earlier, I read your blog everyday. And I feel it is a good use of my time.
PS I signed up just so I could post this comment. Thanks for what you bring to the conversation.
Clearheaded analysis without the firebagging/emoprog handwringing. Accurate description of how terrifying conservatives are and the Republican Party is. Realization of what politics is and the difference between what we want and what we can get. Oh and the occasional profanity is a plus too. Anybody who doesn’t cuss at least a little is fucking weird.
The only negative is that you’re a Giants fan. As a lifelong long-suffering Cowboys fan I can do without that. But that’s a very small quibble.
You and John G Cole are the kind of liberal/Democrat/progressive I hope the Party eventually embraces. It is also what I strive to be one day.
Because you understand power. And day by day, you are teaching progressives how to embrace and wield it.
I came here after the pie fight at dKos. I thought it was awesome that you had so many of those strong women posting here, and some of their posts really challenged me.
Then I had the chance to meet and hang out with you a bit at the Iraq war protest in DC in 2007 (really? was it only 2007?). I’m generally a good judge of character, and you struck me as a good guy. You also happen to be a very astute observer of our political…erm…machinations? Travishamockery? Whatever.
Basically, I read this blog because you’re kinda smart and you don’t get pissed at people when they post semi-drunken comments at 4am. Low bar, maybe – but that’s good enough for me!
I agree and disagree with you, but either way, you’re sane, relevant, and intelligent.
Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you’re really funny. In a good way. I almost never comment, could count the number of times on two hands probably, but I ready everything you write.
You have a certain way of highlighting the absurdity of politics in a manner that makes me laugh, at both myself and the other guy.
I also appreciate your honesty. If you don’t find an argument from the left all that compelling you say so. As a leftie myself, I appreciate someone who keeps me in check. I’m sure not going to trust a conservative to do it.
Oh, man, miss a day online and lose out big in the Comments!
I read Booman first thing every day. It’s my first bookmark and it sets the tone for my day. I trust Martin to have a logical, balanced, and informed opinion and I respect that whether or not I happen to agree.
I read a lot of blogs, each for different reasons. There is a lot of common sense here at the Frog Pond and the other readers are smart and offer valid insights. Comments don’t get swallowed up in a flood and personal matters are minimal. Smart people come here and share.
Thanks, Booman.
Hey, I’ll give you some mojo. From one Buckeye to another! 🙂
Aw, thanks, Mike! From a Dayton gal.
Mrs. ID is from Tipp ~ 6 degrees… or less 😉
I have a good friend who works in the old Hotel Gallery of shops in Tipp. Small world!
I get my daily fix of sanity here at the pond. I have become quite fond of the diversity here, and the respect shown to folks who express a different view. If the country worked this well, we would be the envy of the rest of the world. BTW, I do miss oldies like Boston Joe, Leezie, Catnip to name a few. If you are lurking, take good care.
You kept me sane in 2010
Where else would I go? This is where I wrote my first on-line entries. I shared my journey to China with everyone here. You and CG and Finn kept me occupied in Philly for six hours. This is home.
I have been coming here ever since the Obama Primary versus Hillary. I stay for the sane commentary and wise commenters. You have created a nice community and hope you keep up the good work.
I’m waaaay late to this party, but having read your follow-up post and understanding how useful you find this feedback (in general), I feel compelled to leave a couple of thoughts on the subject–especially since I don’t contribute financially very often (if it’s any consolation, this is the only blog I contribute to; the lion’s share of my liberal-cause money goes to radio).
I don’t remember how I found this blog or when. I look over the archives shows that my first comment was in January of 2006, and god only knows how long I was a lurker here before I found it necessary to register an account so I could post comments.
Most likely I came here from DKos because in the Bush years, the outrages committed during that administration flew so fast and so thick that it was impossible to keep up with them all, and in many cases, even when I could follow and understand the basic facts of a situation, I lacked insight into the key details, and the underlying forces at work. I learned a great deal about those political realities here.
I think probably what’s kept me around is the issues in politics that I find the most interesting tend to dominate the discussion here. As someone else noted, reading political analysis through the lens of someone who’s studied a great deal of history has a special appeal to someone like me, just as a matter of presentation and style; it also tends to lead to sound conclusions and observations that a lot of others fail to note.
The comments section is filled with great insight and expertise, too. I know a little about a lot of subjects, but I don’t know much about any one thing, so reading the deeper discussions in the commentary is almost always educational for me. It shores up a lot of weaknesses in my understanding of events.
During the Obama years, I’ve learned a great deal about political reality, much of that from this blog. I appreciate how the failures of the Obama administration and the Democratic party as a whole are given mention and analysis here without then proceeding over the cliff into “both sides are equally to blame, bought and paid for, etc.”
It’s just recently occurred to me how goddamned sick and tired I am of the constant cynicism that comes from certain quarters of the Left, even when I agree with the main thrust of what’s under discussion. You don’t see much of that here (and I mean including all the contributing commentors), yet at the same time it’s not like an Obama cheering squad either; there is balance.
One final point that has also been mentioned by others, I find this blog manageable. I used to hang around DKos in the early days, but after a few years it just exploded and became overwhelming. At some point it occurred to me that if I was going to spend hours per day reading other people’s opinions about matters of great importance, it would be wise to be more selective about who I read. This site is one of the handful that I’ve settled into since then.
You’re one of my top 3 all time fave bloggers; with Gilliard (rip) and John Cole being the other 2.
You seem a bit more proactive then reactive. Less of a “winer” and more of a “doer” i suppose.
You do what “Open Left” stated it wanted to do but never succeeded: You (perhaps more by nature than by plan) chart a course toward Liberal/Progressive success. How? By keeping your eyes on the prize and not BSing yourself or your readers about where we are at RIGHT NOW. Because only by accessing where we’re at, can we launch to where we want to get to.
Perfect and consistent example: The President can only do so much under current constraints. Far too many just don’t get it. Once we see what those constraints are, we can work on removing them so that the next President (who definitely will be a Dem and likely to the left of Obama imho) can continue to course correct for the 30-40 years of conservative tomfoolery.
……. and of course donations coming soon 🙂
Because, generally I find yours to be the most realistic left take on what is going on in the political world. I don’t always agree with you in terms of goals since I am to your left on a number of issues. I think that you vastly underestimate the value of framing as a tool for organizing coalitions and individuals as well as moving opinion. But you seem to be one of the very few blogger/commenters who gets the actual mechanics and constraints of implementing policy. As a local politician who is significantly to the left of most of the members of the governing body of which I am a part, I have first hand experience of the pragmatic realities of actually making things happen in government. Your analysis is one of the very few that I read that shows a grasp of those realities at the national level.