Legal Commentary

Logrolling In Our Time, Thursday Edition

By Big Tent Democrat

You may have noticed I pick on Ezra Klein a lot. The reason is not because I dislike him. (Jeralyn says he is a terrific person.) I do not know him. I pick on him because of the brand he carries - "progressive" blogger espousing the "progressive" view. But that is an inaccurate characterization of the Ezra Klein who blogs at the Washington Post (And make no mistake, Ezra is on the fast track to being a major "progressive" voice in the Beltway Media Establishment.)

Part of that process is logrolling. Here is Ezra logrolling for Joe Klein:

Houston, Tex.: Ezra, care to comment on the Joe Klein/Greenwald JournoList spat? According to Greenwald you are the owner of that mailing list. Are the kind of e-mails Klein sent representative? What's the purpose of the mail list? DC Gossip? Gang of 500 mind-meld?

Ezra Klein: The purpose of the list is policy and political discussion. Even that thread was about policy: It was about health care, and that's how people began arguing about Jim Cooper and whether he should face a primary challenge. In it, someone echoed Glenn's argument, and then Joe took some shots at Glenn, as they've both done to each other in public many times, and the thread got sent to Glenn, and here we are.

That side of it is regrettable, but no, it's not indicative of what goes on on the list. Rather, it's discussions of much the sort you'd expect if you got a bunch of bloggers and journalists and wonks in a room. Usually, those discussions are useful. Sometimes, they're snarky. Sometimes, people complain about writers they don't like. That gets folks in trouble, and I wish they'd stop doing it. But I think anyone who's read Joe and Glenn over the years knows you don't need secret e-mail lists to get them to snipe at each other.

(Emphasis supplied.) Excuse me, but that is an outrageous and false characterization of what happened. Ezra should be ashamed of himself. What Joe Klein did was accuse Greenwald of being against the American military. Glenn properly characterized it as "Cheneyite." I called it McCarthyism. Ezra, in logrolling for Joe Klein mode, calls it mutual "sniping." Equating what Greenwald has done to what Joe Klein did is scurrilous and offensive.

Glenn Greenwald criticized Joe Klein's work as a journalist. He did not attack his character. For Ezra to call that "sniping" is offensive and wrong. But when you are part of, or trying to be a part of, the Beltway Establishment, logrolling is part of the game.

At this point, you have to read Ezra through that prism. That's why he is hard for me to take seriously regarding health care reform now. On that, see Blue Texan.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 03, 2009 (boomark / email).