I Am Speechless: Erin v. The Boys
There is much more going on below the surface of my own blog than on top of it. If you haven't noticed, there is a raging thread from "Erin" of Dan Nelson/John Thune/MetaBank MetaGate/JalopyGate fame and my fellow Democrat bloggers who broke the story.
A month or so ago, Erin was a champion of the DNA story, particularly from the consumers' point of view and appeared to be quite happy with Jer Bear, Nathan, Chad, Theron, et al and what they were doing. In fact, if you have been reading the thread, she was a major source of information to many of us.
Now, in the past few days, she has started using Sibby-like language against The Boys, getting after them for being political consultants, knowing Steve Hildebrand, and generally not being very nice, etc. I haven't detected where The Boys have really changed much in the past month or so. And I mean that as a compliment. They take on Sen. Thune and point out his problems as a leader. That hasn't changed, even with some of The Boys outing themselves.
I have no idea what is going on. I guess I'm like John Thune when he was on the board of directors of MetaBank--Thus, I put forth the Sgt. Schultz defense--I know nothing.
Is Erin really Erin? Is Erin being spoofed? I don't think so but I'm not sure. Whoever it is, The Boys aren't taking it laying down.
And it is all being played out sotto voce on S.D. Watch. I think I understand why the Rightwingers don't allow comments on their blogs.
I'm serious about this. If anyone knows what is going on, send me an email. I sure as heck don't. In the meantime, enjoy the crazy train in the comments sections--until I decide to pull the trigger and Sibbyize them. Wow.
Todd Epp
Dear Readers:
Over in the "S.D. Watch "Must Reads" for 8/4/05," comments, Erin has fairly detailed discussion of what led to her disillusionment with The Boys. Journalism and politics can be an extremely rough and tumble business, particularly when you are taking on a powerful U.S. Senator like John Thune. I can't speak for The Boys, but I know that sometimes "The Story" becomes more important than anything else. I think it is being "dogged;" however, my more balanced wife says it is sometimes being "obsessed."
For some, like Erin, I can imagine it can be disconcerting. Even the best of us--bloggers and journalists and politicos--are sometimes not very nice even to the people who help feed us. You've seen my own anger at times at commenters and colleagues. It is easy to lose perspective in the middle of a battle.
So, Erin, I think I understand a little bit better how you are feeling. I also think The Boys are genuinely stunned by some of what you have said about them. Erin obviously has played an enormous role in telling the Dan Nelson Automotive Group story and getting that story told in both Iowa and South Dakota. Her agenda has been somewhat different--she emphasizes the consumers. In South Dakota, we have primarily emphasized Sen. John Thune's connections to Dan Nelson, as that appeals to the bloggers personally and politically. But the agendas are not self-exclusive or contradictory. They are complimentary.
Darn, this is starting to get like the threads below. I am pained to see Erin and The Boys at such odds. It wasn't that long ago that they worked together for the common good--trying to help consumers and hold John Thune accountable in the JalopyGate mess.
Damned if I can explain it. I do know that Erin has been open, friendly and helpful to me and is extremely knowledgeable about DNA's practices. I think she is a nice woman. I also like The Boys. Saving the relationships among her and The Boys, well, I'm not Dr. Phil, merely a Girls Soccer Coach Pajama Fatboy Lawyer.
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Reader Comments (6)
I can give a perspective on this matter. The anti-Thune blogs started not out of partisan fanaticism, but out of a revulsion and alarm at the kind of campaign Thune conducted against Tom Daschle. They started pointing out that the pro-Thune blogs were devoted to personal attacks and hate rhetoric. This is a point on which Thune and his bloggers are vulnerable. The Thune blogs took another tack in the rhetorical bag of tricks. They began to rage that the posts that analyzed their screeds of defamation and hate rhetoric were hate rhetoric directed toward them. And that became the staple tactic of two blogs in particular.
Then comes the Thune-Dan Nelson connection. The liberal blogs were apparently informed of this by a person who often responded to their posts. Along the way, that respondent engaged in sparring with the sibilant one. She made comments about his mental state and his medications. Those appeared on this blog, and they made many people nervous. Because accusing people of mental deficiency and mental pathologies is a favorite attack mode of the blog to which Thune contributed money.
The litany of accusations from two rightwing blogs are character defects, hate speech, hate driven campaigns, pathological lying, general dishonesty, terminal wrong-headedness, and on and on. The sibilant one seldom makes a post that does not include those charges.
The sibilant one must have powers of ideological seduction for which no one gave him credit. His favorite term of "Hildebrand Boys" and his accusations of perfidy, collusion, and gross defects of character showed up in the responses of the Thune informer. Oddly, the person who made comments about the mental state of the sibilant one has gotten very sensitive about remarks that could be construed to bring her mental state into question.
To readers who come to some blogs for incisive and coherent commentary, no matter which side of the political spectrum they emanate from, this exchange is disconcerting. Our study of blogs and discussion boards show that those which allow anonymous comments are nearly always strangled by trolls. And that is partly because the formal rules of rhetoric and discussion are not known or are not observed by participants. Anonymous discussion forums unleash the darkest sides of the human ego.
We saw a number of blogs disappear over the months because of threats, insult, and abuse. Blogs can do something, however, that newspapers and other media cannot do. They can review and track stories to their resolutions.
There are stories that need such tracking. But what has happened to blogs in South Dakota is disconcerting.
Todd, perhaps your wish for a virus-free day on that particular post didn't cover your own blog! Somebody's sure infected with something-or-other. Stay the course, is all I ask. Even the right-wingers know you're a good guy, and no one with a blog should be judgedcategorically by his or her commentors, good or bad.
We all stand on our own merits, and between their own blogs and yours, these "Hildebrand Boys" are consistently showing themselves to be persons of integrity. As weird and uncomfortable as that thread has become, it continues to show that SD Democrats are persons of good moral character, as are you.