Posted by
on Sunday, February 04, 2007 12:17:04 PM
Wow! We have entered our second month of the year, and Professor Reynolds takes notice of Beltway Blogroll. It seems as though they may have just uncoveredthe first scandal of Campaign 2008:
The central character: Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon, who this week accepted a job as "blogmaster" to the presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards. Part of her job is to write at the campaign blog.
The scandalous storyline: Like all bloggers, Marcotte is fast and loose with her opinions, and her opinion of the infamous rape allegations against lacrosse players at Duke University didn't sit well with some folks. When Marcotte started catching flak for that opinion, she apparently deleted it and started altering other comments at Pandagon.
Marcotte's move to the Edwards campaign and the subsequent hiring of another blogger, Melissa McEwan of Shakespeare's Sister, as netroots coordinator won praise from her netroots friends.
"What this move symbolizes in the blogosphere is that Edwards team understands how to move to the left on the issues," wrote Jerome Armstrong of MyDD. "The early move by Edwards to consolidate the liberal wing of the Democratic party at the beginning is very smart."
But now Marcotte's attempts to airbrush her past are fast becoming a black-eye for Edwards, even as he earned raves yesterday for a speech at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Washington. "Edwards should demand Marcotte’s immediate resignation from the campaign," wrote K.C. Johnson of Durham-In-Wonderland, who blogs about the Duke case and acknowledged being a supporter of Barack Obama, an Edwards presidential rival.
Let us set aside the petty rivalries between bloggers and who they support, and focus on the point of this piece. Ms. Marcotte's actions are inexcusable. There is a point where when you put up a post, even if you do not like it, you should stick with it. You may catch flak and criticism for it, but you do not go back and delete entries. Nor do you go back and whitewash your past.
Bloggers do it better than the MSM, and subsequent obtuse moonbats in the dead-tree industry trying to "play blogger." We stand on a higher level than they do not only because of our tenacious fact-checking and insightful commentary, but because we are honest. We have a "virtual creed" that we abide by (including "The Law Of The Blogger"). Ms. Marcotte's attemtpts to literally remove elements of her history is beyond the pale, and completely dishonorable for a blogger.
Patrick Ruffini, now the e-campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, said Marcotte crossed a "bright red line" into bad taste. And this insight from Betsy's Page, gets to the heart of the issue:
Hiring a campaign blogger is now necessary for each campaign. But this episode shows how treacherous the waters can be when a candidate just dives in and picks someone. For now Edwards and his campaign will be in the position of having to defend what this woman has written in the past and explaining why he found her particular writing style so suitable for his campaign.
Other blogs covering the story include Brainster, Hit & Run, Outside the Beltway, Overlawyered and South of Heaven. Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit also has called attention to Marcotte's woes.
Some people think the controversy is ridiculous. "You're opposing Edwards' candidacy by criticizing his blog manager, for her opinions posted on a different blog, about a state-level criminal case?" one commenter wrote at Overlawyered. "'Foul language' -- that's what you base your decisions on in the most important political race in the democractic world? And that's what it took to distract you from an issue in any way related to the actual candidate: 'comic joshing' about the house he lives in?"
Ahem. Those who want to criticize bloggers for bringing this to people's attention may do so. But the point is that when questioned regarding her stance on the Duke non-rape case, Ms. Marcotte did not deflect the inquiries away, or make a simple statement announcing her opinion on the matter. No, she went back and started altering her history. It is one thing to go back through a post and correct a typo or two. It is something entirely different to go back and literally whitewash aspects of who you were. She could have easily deflected the inquiries by simply saying that she had shelved her opinion of the matter until the trial was over.
Even though many people in the blogosphere are not working professionals, per se, the vast majority are, and they are experts in a host of realms. (I cannot begin to count the amount of lawyers who blog, or historians, or formerly/currently-serving soldiers, etc.)Point being bloggers bring to the table a whole new level of media coverage. We are quick to note news, quick to analyze and fact-check the media reports, and we can stir up a hornet's nest quicker than most people are willing to recognize. Ask the NRSC. Ask William Arkin. Ask Dan Rather, Eason Jordan, and John Kerry. They have all been on the receiving end of 'swarms.
Ms. Marcotte should have known better than to play this sort of game. It might have gone unnoticed by a virtual no-name blogger than is lucky to pull in 20 or 30 readers a day. But she ceased being in that category (no I do not know her original traffic numbers, and I do not care as it is not the point I am making) when she joined Team Edwards. With the spotlight on her as his "blogmaster" she had to know there would be a level of scrutiny put on her, and her professionalism. And her actions speak volumes.
Not even Kos pulled a stunt like this when he was working with the Lamont campaign in 2006. And for all the faults we can lay at Markos Moulitsas-Zuniga's feet, a lack of professionalism is not one of them. He may be uncouth and rude; snarky and nasty; but he is anything but the sort that would go back and paint over his past. He is proud of his Screw Them screed, and I am sure he is proud of his latest missive where he leaps off the edge of reason, and agrees with William Arkin. Say what you wish about Kos, but no one can accuse him of the unprofessional behavior exhibited by Ms. Marcotte.
I must concur with those opening up with both barrels against Ms. Marcotte. Team Edwards should request her resignation. If she refuses to, then she should be fired. There is no place for such behavior--whether they are a blooger on the right, the center, or the left. Such behavior gives a black eye to all of us because readers will suspect bloggers of doing this regularly. And that, ladies and gentlement, is the furthest thing from the truth.
Marcie