Back in Action

I'm back from Aspen, but I'll be leaving for college on the 2nd! The ski vacation was great, although it was marred by the tragic events in Asia. If you can spare anything, please send help.

Anyway, I'm re-entering the blogosphere with commentary on Kevin Drum's post on the partisan nature of the blogosphere. He writes:

There's a point to be made here about the "independent" blogosphere, too. Namely that it's anything but. In fact, the political blogosphere is far more partisan than any organ of the mainstream media, more partisan than most op-ed pages, and most of the time more partisan than even the overtly political magazines. The blogosphere is about the most partisan and least independent voice this side of talk radio.

Drum says he can't see anything wrong with that (though he may have been sarcastic). I see something VERY wrong with it. The blogosphere's potential for positive contribution to American political discourse doesn't lie in the amplification of shrill partisan hackery. It lies in its potential to bring together an enormous amount of expertise, analysis, opinion, and argument together in an easily accessible and quickly disseminatable form. The mainstream media certainly has its problems, but at least it never became an echo chamber for the RNC and DNC's talking points of the day. The best blogs are those that argue the idea, not the man, and are willing to stand up to their standardbearers when their nominal allies drop the ball.

I almost never read Daily Kos or Eschaton because I know they will never take a Conservative position on anything, regardless of merits. I avoid Hugh Hewitt and even Instapundit for the same (politically reversed) reasons. If you're only posting to pump up your chosen party, then you have no space in my blogworld.