A Lovely Read

Billmon:

I've no doubt the motives here are partly personal (it's never wise to ignore the overlap between the personal and the political.) Kos has said some extremely harsh, if generally accurate, things about The New Republic, the Democratic Leadership Council and the various political consultants and pundits associated with them (i.e. the Lieberman Democrats.) Like most bloggers, Kos doesn't always bother to maintain the archaic fiction of "civility" -- as if political debate were still the domain of 18th century planters in powdered wigs, discussing natural law in their drawing rooms while their slaves poured their mint julips for them. In other words, he frequently uses words like "fuck" and "shit" and sometimes calls his opponents stupid wankers, or whatever. The rabble manning the barricades at Daily Kos can be even more, uh, direct at times. Of course, anyone who's ever poked a stick in the open sewers of Right Blogistan could spear some far worse scatalogical examples. But it's still pretty strong stuff for the delicate blossoms who inhabit the TNR's editorial offices. I can only shudder to think what would happen if they were ever exposed to the Rude Pundit (or vice versa.) Think of the analyst bills.

But the sweet young things of the TNR have their friends -- at the Times, Newsweek and wherever else Ivy Leaguers with mediocre intellects but good networking skills obtain journalistic employment. And so it didn't take long for Kos and his friends (i.e. the liberal blogger mafia) to make some highly venomous enemies among the lambs of the neoliberal punditocracy.