Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Whacking The Messenger


In my mailbox this morning - unbidden - was a nasty little mass email from The New Republic, highlighting the magazine's latest issue and its front-page attempted assassination of Arianna Huffington. In theory, it's supposed to be a review of Huffington's new book, Right is Wrong . . but that came out in in June 2008 . . .
Less well known is that one passion has remained consistent across her various ideological incarnations: an utter contempt for the press. Isaac’s explanation of the Huffington worldview is devastating.
I could take or leave Huffington - I think most of the left that has memory prior to 2000 can remember Arianna's position as the Not Ann Coulter voice of the conservative GOP. Her venture of the Huffington Post after GW's election however rivals DailyKos and the other blogs as the wellspring of the progressive NetRoots. She has been very adept and tenacious in making herself a media star of politics - not the least of which are her appearances with Bill Maher.

The New Republic's article essentially is a nuke tossed at Arianna specifically but in general at the the liberal blogosphere, tarring it (and us) with every poor habit and descriptor smeared at Huffington the proprietor.

TNR has long been in trouble with lefties and some of the more less-than-mainstream progressives whom have found their own means to publishing on the Internet in the last 8 years. The magazine has been suffering the same slide in publication numbers that all of journalism has. And they're attempting a bloody public hit on one of the capos Internati to send us a message - they're not going to go into the long dark without a War.

So much for the civil war in the GOP.

3 comments:

gone said...

Interesting how Huffington is suddenly a specific target on the right; I've been seeing her mentioned by rightie trolls all over. Did she do anything lately to spark the recent obsession with Huffpo? Also, I heard Tucker Carlson (of Jon Stewart "dick" fame) is trying to put together a rightie Huffpo. Maybe that's what set off the new whinefest.

idiosynchronic said...

I'm not sure why either. I've been reading less than you, Twinks.

It could be that the right is finally getting out of it's depression and rolling its sleeves up. And ripping on someone with lefty power whom used to be your bestest buddy would be a likely first stop. Especially when those other faggoty moderate Republicans have jumped ship on you lately. And if its a woman, that's just thick, delicious icing.

TNR is not right-wing, however, they have show that they get carried off on right-wing frames and stories though. And they're certainly an element in the Beltway power structure that feels threatened - in more than just the journo collapse.

gone said...

Maybe it's just cos she made such a success so quickly. People get nervous around successful women. Lookit what they're doing with Sotomayor. It's driving them wacky.