Pat Buchanan was pied in 2005 at Western Michigan University not because his racist views were unknown. Image: Melanie Maxwell

Dear Daily Kos,

I write this as an unabashed liberal: why has your site become a shill advertising machine for the destructive “journalism” of the cable news you oft-decry?

Whether it be foul-mouthed stalker Rachel Marsden; the scandal-fabricating Aaron Klein; former gay porn star and male escort Matt Sanchez; or the crazy racist Hillary supporter Harriet Christian; the number of bottom-feeders with few journalistic–or personal–ethics who are paraded before us by the mainstream media is startling.  It’s not even a left-or-right issue.

The question the blogosphere needs to answer: why perpetuate the sins of these so-called news networks by writing endlessly about the cretins they slap on our screens?

The answer works like this: crazy-talking pundit gets on the O’Reilly Factor, Rachel Maddow or Chris Matthews, and then the blogosphere is happy to have something to write about the next day (“This crazy person on [Fox News/MSNBC/ABC/CBS] said something crazy!  Shame!“).  It drives traffic, baby, and comments!

While there is some fun in pointing out how awful people can be (I’ve done it), sites like Daily Kos et al. have devolved into waiting for the latest clown to be paraded on cable so that they can write about their attrocities.

The networks love it – it brings in viewers, and creates “buzz” around their shows.  Links and embedded video clips ensue.

The blogs should focus less on debating the ponyboy pundits’ words, whose kinked thoughts about humanity merit little serious consideration, and more on why the networks giving such outrageous people air time only seems to bring benefits.  That’s why you are seeing more of these characters.

Instead, Daily Kos and the rest discuss and debate their gutter perspectives, giving them the credibility of artificial controversy.  Our country’s most vile views are pored over in the minutest details, breathing life in to them as people become curious about the fuss.  Blogs like Daily Kos are  unwitting dupes in the game.  They used to be forceful critics of the practice.  Why  take off the air trash-talking nitwits whose documented histories show little integrity, when they get so many people watching, talking and typing?

Racist Pat Buchanan shows the blogosphere’s utter fail

The most recent dust-up is Pat Buchanan, who has been letting everyone know he’s for white men, and that the GOP will continue to flounder with voters as long as they stay away from race-baiting and culture wars.  Never mind that Buchanan has been saying these things for decades, including that he thought the Republican Party could learn a lot from Ku Klux Klansman David Duke (“Take a hard look at Duke’s portfolio of winning issues and expropriate those not in conflict with GOP principles, [such as] reverse discrimination against white folks”).

When Buchanan appeared on Rachel Maddow last night saying the United States was built 100% by white men, Maddow predictably smacked him down.  And the blogosphere predictably went to town on filling its role of advertising the crazy people on cable news and their crazy words.  Maddow, who put this old man with his long-discredited views on her shows, comes out the hero.  Why wouldn’t she put a racist on her show, then?

Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck: they are modern versions of the 1990′s love-fest with Ricki Lake, Richard Bey, Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones.  They put the same guests on, except now they wear suits and there is no live studio audience to boo, hiss and call the guest a “dog who should be in the dog house.”  That’s become the job of Daily Kos and the blogosphere.

Daily Kos, the 24-hour-news cycle’s best advertiser

The Daily Kos is perhaps the most egregious cable news advertising shill out there.  In just a little over a day, Kos and his bloggers have written no less than seventeen posts exploring the minutia of Pat Buchanan and his racism.  They are all predictable diatribes that effectively expand Buchanan’s name-recognition and give his racism a wider airing, often with a video clip:

The Imperial Wizard Of MSNBC.
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 06:07:16 AM PDT
632 comments

Dear MSNBC
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 07:09:06 AM PDT
63 comments

You are gonna break my heart dear Rachel!
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 10:09:53 AM PDT
75 comments

Open memo to MSNBC re: Tonight’s Rachel Maddow Show
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 10:36:20 AM PDT
79 comments

I’m Not Angry At MSNBC.
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 12:34:21 PM PDT
67 comments

Buchanan calls Robinson “boy”?
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 02:26:34 PM PDT
129 comments

Pat Buchanan, your electoral math doesn’t add up
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 03:09:35 PM PDT
15 comments

Maddow calls Pat Buchanan “dated”
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 06:44:45 PM PDT
66 comments

What would white people do…
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 05:40:04 PM PDT
387 comments

Rachel Maddow decides she’s had enough”
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 07:05:03 PM PDT
610 comments

Buchanan is right. This white man is full of resentment.
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 07:21:51 PM PDT
447 comments

Dear Rachel – boot the bigoted “Uncle Pat”
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 07:19:54 PM PDT
66 comments

Why We NEED Pat Buchanan on TV
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 09:09:52 PM PDT
52 comments

A Word on Princeton and Affirmative Action
Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 10:10:22 PM PDT
151 comments

I’m gonna miss you, MSNBC.
Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 05:37:45 AM PDT
109 comments

Mything the point of “White Men Built This Country”
Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 07:08:31 AM PDT
49 comments

Is Pat Buchanan Really Playing with Fire? (with poll)
Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 08:04:53 AM PDT
1 comment

How many different ways can you parse the words of a racist before you are the platform for their views, Kos?

The worst was the Rachel Maddow boot-licker ErinW43′s post  (“Rachel Maddow decides she’s had enough“)  that cheered the same Maddow who handed a racist her platform again:

After seeing MSNBC talking heads continue to treat Pat Buchanan like the lovable but misguided uncle for far too long, Rachel Maddow decided to call a spade a spade on her show tonight during Buchanan’s guest appearance.
[....]
But Rachel Maddow continued to prove her skill as an effective pundit and stopped the MSNBC practice of politely giving him a pass and instead coolly and calmly, but forcefully, called him out on his views.

Yes, but she still put him on as she has done multiple time, and will do so again in the future.  These appearances on what are meant to be serious shows lend credibility to Buchanan, which is how he makes his money.   ErinW43′s shilling forgets the last time Maddow ‘called out’ Buchanan.  From the August 2008 Daily Kos story “The Beauty of Rachel Maddow’s Smackdown of Pat Buchanan Last Night“:

Keep this in mind when you’re watching Pat Buchanan spout his asshat opinions on every show. Here is the Pat Buchanan I know and loathe. And three cheers to Rachel for the SMACKDOWN. You are so awesome!

Erin, how many repeat smackdowns does Maddow need to have before you realize they are contrived?  It’s a game that ErinW43 and many  bloggers play into because they don’t see that when the cameras are off, host and vile pundit wink, wink each other over the fireworks that will get the attention of…ErinW43 at Daily Kos, et al.

They never ask where is Maddow’s responsibility to obtain decent guests who challenge our intellects, instead of bait our moral outrage.  After Buchanan’s performances on MSNBC this week, it’s the only question an intelligent person should ask.

The Jon Stewart-Tucker Carlson feud, where Carlson couldn’t believe that Stewart refused to play by these unwritten rules, should have clued you in, especially since Carlson has never gotten over it.

Rachel Maddow and Daily Kos seek short-term gain, ignoring long-term harm

Maddow is going by the playbook: create controversy, create buzz and watch the ratings climb.  When the cameras are off, guest and host talk about what a “smackdown” it was, and how it will be good for ratings.  That’s how Ann Coulter gets booked.  “What crazy thing will happen next with her?” is not David Brinkley, it’s Ricki Lake.

Whether they are adding anything productive to our national discourse is a meaningless consideration.  That ain’t the game.  It’s short-term gain in viewers and web traffic, over the long-term harm it does to how we respect each other and our views.  The blogosphere, once pointed critic, is now the lap-dog of this pablum. Why?  It brings traffic and comments.

Short-term gain that ignores long-term harm was a key element in our financial meltdown.  People wonder why the media is in meltdown?  Those ratings they are getting from all of this horror aren’t followers; they are people grabbing popcorn and watching the spectacle of their desperate attempt to forestall their implosion.  The blogosphere is now part of the show.  What’s left in our debasement?

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