Why I'm Not Blogging About Politics Much Anymore

There was a perfect example on a Memeorandum thread today of the reason why I don't care to blog about politics these days.

It begins with this piece by David Brooks where Brooks castigates the Obama campaign's cynical rhetoric against "modern capitalism," of which Romany is supposedly the archetypal specimen. Its the usual Brooks fodder; a good bit here and there surrounded by over broad generalizations and the occasional sweeping denunciation.

Its not much of a piece, by any standard. That presidential campaigns will stoop to cynical populist posturing is hardly breaking news anywhere.

But, no! According to some leading lights, Brooks' column is actually offensive!! Memeorandum helpfully links to drivel by Booman Tribune, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reaction, and Balloon Juice that make a collective case that is at once idiotic, pig ignorant, dishonest and a complete waste of time for any thinking person. (I'm shocked that Steve Benen, the single dumbest and most unqualified political writer of our day didn't weigh in stupidly as well... he must have been napping.) Its pointless to even waste my time fisking it because it is all so bad I'd have to fisk even the definite articles. Worse yet, if I were to attempt to do so it would only sink myself into that shitty morass.

Part of me would like to blame Memeorandum for linking so often to such useless shit, but maybe they are simply constrained by the sheer amount of shit being produced. Its sad because there are real arguments to be had out there, and I love a good argument. What I do not like are dumbshits, especially when people are being tricked into taking the dumbshits seriously.

It begins to feel like we are all being sucked into the Monty Python "Argument Clinic" sketch, where one wants to say "I don't want to argue about that!" when more and more shitty drivel is being flung in our direction by this new class of aggressively stupid opinion makers. That is the scary part in all this. Its the stupid ones who are driving what gets counted as the "conversation" these days.

So, if you are wondering why I am not writing more just imagine an exasperated Michael Palin saying "I don't want to argue about that!" and you won't be too far off.