Calling All Wingnuts

Klein writes the following in an article titled, “Beware the Bloggers’ Bile“.

A reasonable reader might ask, Why are the left-wing bloggers attacking you? Aren’t you pretty tough on the Bush Administration? Didn’t you write a few months ago that George W. Bush would be remembered as one of the worst Presidents in history? And why on earth does any of this matter?

…

the smart stuff is being drowned out by a fierce, bullying, often witless tone of intolerance that has overtaken the left-wing sector of the blogosphere. Anyone who doesn’t move in lockstep with the most extreme voices is savaged and ridiculed—especially people like me who often agree with the liberal position but sometimes disagree and are therefore considered traitorously unreliable. Some of this is understandable: the left-liberals in the blogosphere are merely aping the odious, disdainful—and politically successful—tone that right-wing radio talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh pioneered.

Because the magazines seldom see fit to print letters to the editor that constitute substantive criticism, I thought I’d reprint mine here:

Mr. Klein:

I hope this is something you have heard before, but if it isn’t, I hope it is something you and your colleagues will take a moment to ponder on.

The comparison between the left’s strident criticism of the press and the right’s outright hatred of the same falls short in one key respect.

I feel safe in venturing that 95% of the time, when you are criticized by the left, the criticism arose from a perceived mistake that you made.  The criticism may be vicious, but after decades of living with a maddeningly unaccountable press, one should not be surprised when the internet, which has provided an immediate mechanism of feedback, is used intemperately.  But that is really not that much different from the intemperate and exasperated boss that calls any of us to the carpet when we screw up.  So enough with the whining already.

We on the left simply set high standards for you and expect our nation’s opinion leaders to get it right all of the time.  You are, after all, the elite.

Now…  On the right, you have a bunch of propagandists that criticize you for doing your job.  Whether it’s reporting about secret wiretap programs, extraordinary rendition, Iraq war plans, “black” prisons scattered across the world, Abu Grahb, Haditha or mistreatment of detainees, when the right scolds, it is because you did your job.  Bill Bennett (and several of his cohorts) wants some of your colleagues imprisoned.

So I ask you:  why get upset about bloggers that set high standards for you when the landscape for truly odious criticism is target-rich?  There are any number of examples of right-wing talk radio hosts and pundits that hate you for doing your jobs well.  Why not criticize them instead of railing against those of us that wish you’d do your job better and aren’t afraid to let you know?