Looks like another blogger has decided to hang up his spurs and move on to greener pastures. Marc Ambinder is calling it quits and going back to be a regular writer.
Quote:
Really good print journalism is ego-free. By that I do not mean that the writer has no skin in the game, or that the writer lacks a perspective, or even that the writer does not write from a perspective. What I mean is that the writer is able to let the story and the reporting process, to the highest possible extent, unfold without a reporter’s insecurities or parochial concerns intervening. Blogging is an ego-intensive process. Even in straight news stories, the format always requires you to put yourself into narrative. You are expected to not only have a point of view and reveal it, but be confident that it is the correct point of view. There is nothing wrong with this. As much as a writer can fabricate a detachment, or a “view from nowhere,” as Jay Rosen has put it, the writer can also also fabricate a view from somewhere. You can’t really be a reporter without it. I don’t care whether people know how I feel about particular political issues; it’s no secret where I stand on gay marriage, or on the science of climate change, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. What I hope I will find refreshing about the change of formats is that I will no longer be compelled to turn every piece of prose into a personal, conclusive argument, to try and fit it into a coherent framework that belongs to a web-based personality called “Marc Ambinder” that people read because it’s “Marc Ambinder,” rather than because it’s good or interesting.
That last part that I bolded and underlined, I really get — I really, really do. There have been some times here very recently, when I have honestly thought about just shutting this blog down and when I had the mood to write about something related to politics, just submitting it to some site somewhere. Because frankly, since Bush left office and Obama was elected; this whole blogging thing lost its allure with me. It is not that I do not enjoy writing. I really do. I just have felt as of late that the whole blogging, especially against Obama has taken a turn for the stupid. I never was a good carnival barker and it seems that some of the right —- have become just that — a carnival of barkers and echo chambers.
I was, before I even started Blogging, a Conservative Democratic Party voter; someone who wanted to see the middle class helped. However, I never did, and still do not approve of abortion and frankly, I felt that homosexuality was immoral — according to the Bible. However, I do not want, unlike some of the right, to see Homosexuals jailed or driven to the ends of the earth. I have never felt that way. I just did not approve of the lifestyle. As I continued Blogging as a “Left of center” Blogger, I did begin to see just much I was in strong disagreement with the far, far left. Believe me when I tell you; by the time my old blog, which was called “The Populist,” was hacked. The whole idea of me being a “Historic Populist” had worn very thin. I was actually thinking of shutting down, just because the whole idea of populism was dead and had been replaced with this awful progressive nonsense and I just really was not into all that. That is why I switched sides; I grew disenchanted with the whole idea of Populism. This is when I switched sides and really began to rethink my political stance completely. This really began to happen, when I saw that the Democratic Party Primary process of 2007 was going to be an extended pissing contest between the Al Sharpton and the Gloria Steinem factions of the Democratic Party.
Anyhow, all of that is now over and the Democrats got the keys, and proceeded to screw that party into the ground, and now, the Republicans are standing to retake the political scene again. Now where does that leave me? At this point, I have no idea. However, I will say this; like Michelle Malkin, I do not carry water for the establishment or the Republican Party. If they are screwing up, you are going hear me scream about it on here. It might cost me readers and it might get me called a faux Republican — but I just do not care. When people do stuff, that is stupid, or worse wrong; I will be here barking and griping to whomever will listen.
Anyhow, I said all that to say this — Good luck to Marc Ambinder. I hope he does what he loves. Because in this day and age; doing something you love and getting paid for it — is a rarity.
Others: : Althouse, Runnin’ Scared, Dennis the Peasant, The Daily Dish, The New Republic and GOP 12