Introducing…”The Next Right”
May, 8, 2008 — nicedebThe Next Right is the brainchild of Republican Wonder-Boy, Patrick Ruffini:
The Next Right is the place for wired activists to build a new Republican Party and conservative movement. As a community-driven grassroots action website for the right, we’ll feature in-depth political analysis, on-the-ground reports, and strategic discussion and debate.
Go sign up, and get plugged in. As Beth at MVRWC says, it’s about time we conservatives stopped whining and complaining. It’s time we got as organized as the nutroots on these intertubes, so we can be as effective as those squeaky wheels are.
May, 8, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Of course. John McCain wants to hear from the great unwashed.
Not.
My prediction is that conservative blogs will NEVER match the drawing power or fund raising power of the liberal blogs. No conservative blog allows the uninhibited dialog that takes place on DKos or FireDogLake. RedState and FreeRepublic ban people who look sideways at them, while Markos lets people post diaries calling him every bad name in the book. Without spirited conversation and the freedom to call the blog’s owner a jerk, there is no progress.
It’s one of the defining differences between the two sides of the blogosphere.
May, 8, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Huh! That’s not what I hear.
I don’t visit liberal sites often but from what I hear from other conservatives the opposite is true.
Every blog has the right to set its own rules (regarding profanity and such) and if they feel someone has crossed the line, they have every right to ban them. Liberal blogs, however, are known to ban conservatives simply for stating an opinion they don’t agree with, or can refute.
Liberals are known to be great champions of free speech, (unless you have an opinion they don’t like).
May, 9, 2008 at 9:52 am
I don’t visit liberal sites often but from what I hear from other conservatives the opposite is true.
And a lot of people who have never read Darwin have strong opinions on him based on what people who don’t like him say. I HAVE read Darwin, and that’s why I know he was indeed a genius and that evolution is a fact.
Why don’t you join Daily Kos, or at least lurk and read the posts? I’m UID#207 out of over 150,000, which means I signed up on day one back in 2003. I probably disagree strongly with about a third of the people on the site, but we manage to get along.
While you and I may disagree, and strongly, on many issues, you can’t complain that my post is vituperative, ad hominem, or that it uses strawmen or profanity.
There must be a reason why liberal blogs outperform conservative blogs WRT supporting candidates. Perhaps this is an opening to discuss those differences and why they exist.
May, 9, 2008 at 10:27 am
Why don’t you join Daily Kos, or at least lurk and read the posts?
Because I don’t like hanging out with people I vociferously disagree with.
I understand your premise is that I need to expose myself to different points of view.
Please. Just because I don’t wade into the feverswamps of liberal nutbaggery doesn’t mean I’m not exposed to the ideas promulgated there through other sources.
I don’t even go to lefty sites to find hilarious examples of moonbattery to post, like other conservative bloggers do. I don’t need the headache or the heartburn.
Soooo thanks, but no thanks.
May, 9, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I’ve heard about 10 cases over the past 3 years where conservatives tried to post contra views at DKos, but were deleted within minutes. I’ve never heard of one being allowed to stand. That, combined with the remarkably low quality of the posts there, don’t provide much incentive to visit.
I’ve visited DKos, FDL, TPM, and Atrios. With the occasional exception of TPM, the articles are shallow, biased, and self-congratulatory. Those people just don’t do their homework.
May, 9, 2008 at 1:11 pm
There must be a reason why liberal blogs outperform conservative blogs WRT supporting candidates.
That’s an easy one. Here’s a breezy explanation:
First, conservatives view politicians as a necessary evil - we don’t get too emotional about supporting them. We give them money more as a preventive measure (stopping Democratic candidates) than as a show of support. Libs, on the other hand, look at their candidates as a path to reform and salvation. They’re “progressive.”
Second, we’re more critical of our candidates. Even Fred Thompson, the darling of conservative bloggers, suffered from criticisms of his experience, commitment, and management skills, long before he dropped out of the race. Little secret for ya: most of us don’t like George Bush that much, either.
Third, there’s an ambivalence about winning this election. Many wouldn’t mind seeing the first black or woman President, even though their platforms are awful. Many wouldn’t mind losing the election to send a message to the GOP, which survives only due to the comparable incompetence of the DNC.
Fourth, we (and here I exclude the Paulbots) don’t do much in the way of online fund-raising drives. There was a modest push to support Thompson, but there’s been nothing for McCain.
May, 9, 2008 at 1:16 pm
It’s one of the defining differences between the two sides of the blogosphere.
That right there is hilarious, is what that is. That’s the statement of someone who has no idea how repressive liberal blogs are to conservative commenters. It’s the statement of someone who has no idea how tolerant many conservative blogs have been to liberal commenters.
But in truth, trolls from both sides have spoiled the opportunity for dialog. If a liberal commenter appears on a conservative site, banning them immediately is the right move 99% of the time. I’m sure it’s the same on liberal blogs when conservatives appear.
May, 9, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Little secret for ya: most of us don’t like George Bush that much, either.
Here’s another little secret for ya:
Even more of us don’t like McCain. Which explains the lack of fund-raising for him.
May, 9, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I only ban libs when they become rude and combative, and/or use abusive/profane language.
May, 9, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I only ban libs when they become rude and combative, and/or use abusive/profane language.
When I started blogging I banned libs when I thought that their comments didn’t meet reasonable standards of argumentation. But I regretted it, because then there were no libs on the site. Now I pretty much let them be - I figure their own comments are their worst enemy.