Circular Firing Squad
The title expresses my opinion of much of the right of center blogoshere these days. As it becomes more probable that Barack Obama will win election to the White House nerves are fraying and splits in the Republican coalition are becoming visible. After eight years of the presidency and control of Congress from 1995-2006 many conservatives have forgotten that the enemy is liberalism not other conservatives.
This in not surprising. The Democrats went through the same process before they finally started getting it together the past several years. This is all a natural part of the movement of the political pendulum.
I post on a certain well known conservative blog. I am a minor weenie of no importance there and post mainly as a way to vent and discuss but am under no illusion that it accomplishes much if anything.
Prior to election day I won't publicly attack the site but afterwards I will make my opinion known. It is currently a cluttered mess. Both the site itself and the way it is ran editorially are disasters.
The way the user interface is arranged is pitiful but it is the weird editorial policies that make the site worthless as a tool to advance conservative thinking. The editors (there seem to be various ones who have varying levels of power) on the one hand might take a position pillorying Republican Congressmen for voting for or against a particular bill but on the other get their panties in a knot because a poster says something "rude" or "politically incorrect".
Thus they try to stir up revolutionary fervor while at the same time erecting silly totems that no one is allowed to dishonor.
While opposition to abortion is an absolute MUST on this site, they also have set themselves up to be gay police, jumping on anyone who suggests that homosexuality is wrong. This approach is untenable. You can't oppose abortion on moral grounds and then deny someone else the right to oppose homosexuality on moral grounds.
Of course the editorial policy can certainly follow those seemingly divergent paths but to ban anyone who dares utter a negative word toward gays is to effectively cede the high ground on any moral issue.
And about banning. It is contrary to basic conservative principles to ban someone for disagreeing with you. If your purpose is to only present views that are within a strict range, then require that all posts be approved. Or just don't allow outsiders to post. It is completely understandable for a webmaster to want to present only views XYZ. But if that is your desire don't invite others to participate and then treat them like crap.
