NYT: Edwards’s Bloggers Cross the Line, Critic (The Catholic League) Says

[jefferson_dem]

February 7, 2007
Edwards’s Bloggers Cross the Line, Critic Says
By JOHN M. BRODER

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — Two bloggers hired by John Edwards to reach out to liberals in the online world have landed his presidential campaign in hot water for doing what bloggers do — expressing their opinions in provocative and often crude language.

The Catholic League, a conservative religious group, is demanding that Mr. Edwards dismiss the two, Amanda Marcotte of the Pandagon blog site and Melissa McEwan, who writes on her blog, Shakespeare’s Sister, for expressing anti-Catholic opinions.

<SNIP>

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said in a statement on Tuesday, “John Edwards is a decent man who has had his campaign tarnished by two anti-Catholic vulgar trash-talking bigots.”

Mr. Edwards’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said Tuesday night that the campaign was weighing the fate of the two bloggers.

<SNIP>

Ms. Marcotte wrote in December that the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to the use of contraception forced women “to bear more tithing Catholics.” In another posting last year, she used vulgar language to describe the church doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

She has also written sarcastically about the news media coverage of the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexual assault, saying: “Can’t a few white boys sexually assault a black woman anymore without people getting all wound up about it? So unfair.”

<SNIP>

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/us/politics/07edwards.html?_r=2&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

[merwin]

1. Edwards should tell the Catholic League where to stuff it.

[blondie58]

2. but isn't it true?

isn't that why the Catholic Church wants to control a womans body? They even frown upon 'seed' spilled as per masturbation- it should make a baby.

IMHO, the Catholic Church is more about mans rules- not Gods.

[JNelson6563]

14. Catholics don't tithe

They even frown upon 'seed' spilled as per masturbation- it should make a baby.

Yes, it's a biblical thing. If I recall correctly some poor soul named Onan was whacked by bible-god for "spilling his seed" instead of impregnating his brother's widow.

Some pretty sick individuals wrote those stories. If I were to believe in a god it would be nothing like bible-god. But still, as far as Catholicism goes some of the worst of their rules are rooted in the bible, like most of the other sects. Anti-Catholic sentiment, especially from other Christian sects, has always cracked me up. All are working from the same book of seriously twisted ideas.

Julie

[mmonk]

15. Yep.

They laugh at the "immaculate conception" while teaching their children about a virgin birth. Pretty crazy if you ask me. They are also laughing at themselves.

[hedgehog]

38. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is that Mary herself

was conceived without being marked by Original sin. Original sin is not sex, but rather Adam's disobedience in eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Given that the entire concept is a metaphor, the essence is that Mary is considered to have always been in harmony with the will of God unlike all other humans who must struggle to reach that harmony.

The virgin birth is the notion that Jesus was conceived without the participation of a male. Often used over the years to suggest that sex is at best a necessary evil, it is in fact a tribute to the woman who brought God into the world with no help from a male.

[rebel with a cause]

20. Yes it is in the Bible

something to the point of not letting your seed fall upon the ground. And yes "some pretty sick individuals wrote those stories". In a time when the peasants were killing themselves and their children because their lifes were so horrid, the bible was rewritten to suit the kings of the time. Thus it became a sin to commit suicide, god's 'chosen/blessed ones' were excempt from the laws, and it was a sin not to have children. Women were the property of their fathers and then their husbands, and so on and so forth. The craziness of some of the things in this book is why the new christian religious fanatic scares me more in most cases than even an islamic fanatic does.

[mmonk]

3. As a questioning Catholic,

tell Mr. Donahue to take a hike.

[zbdent]

8. For those people, a Dem can be disqualified for office if he goes through

a yellow traffic signal and, as he's passing under it, it turns red ...

We've already seen what they'll tolerate in Republican amoral/immoral behavior just because they vote 'pro-life' ...

[mmonk]

9. Yep. I get so tired of hearing "a culture of life" being

espoused about people in office that have no problem with "pre-emptive" wars based on lies and toleration of torture and murder. It's the ultimate hypocrisy.

[adigal]

23. Bill Donahue has said some pretty radical, terrible things

I am going to go look for some right now.

[adigal]

24. Last year, he said some stuff about Hollywood Jews

Here you go:

(on Scarborough)

"WILLIAM DONAHUE, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: I spoke to Mel a couple of weeks ago about this. And I don‘t think it really matters a whole lot to him. It certainly doesn‘t matter to me. We‘ve already won.

Who really cares what Hollywood thinks? All these hacks come out there. Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It‘s not a secret, OK? And I‘m not afraid to say it. That‘s why they hate this movie. It‘s about Jesus Christ, and it‘s about truth. It‘s about the messiah.

Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common. But you know what? The culture war has been ongoing for a long time. Their side has lost.

You have got secular Jews. You have got embittered ex-Catholics, including a lot of ex-Catholic priests who hate the Catholic Church, wacko Protestants in the same group, and these people are in the margins. Frankly, Michael Moore represents a cult movie. Mel Gibson represents the mainstream of America."

[ProfessorGAC]

29. As Soon As I See Donahue's Name. . .

. . .i know to dismiss whatever is said. He's a crackpot.
The Professor

[rodeodance]

4. umm... can't these bloggers make an argument without vulgar language?

[mmonk]

5. I'm sure they can and they also

most likely don't have to be anti-Catholic to make their points. It's just I can't stand Donahue. He gives Catholics a bad name.

[Cassandra]

13. He functions, in some ways, the way some bloggers do...

but for the Catholic Church. He says what they would like to say but when he goes overboard they can point to him as an independent agent.

[ClintonTyree]

6. What's vulgar to one...

may be everyday parlance to another. People looking for an argument will usually find or create one.

[JackBeck]

27. All bets are off when you have the VP telling a Congressman

on the floor to go "Fuck yourself"

[Donnachaidh]

7. speaking as a catholic woman, Mr. Donohoe can kiss my sagging behind

I've stated the same things Ms. Marcotte has said in the past. I've watched two previous generations of women in my family struggle with the reality of our *rights* as written by the Catholic Church.


It's not that she's anti-Catholic, it's because the Catholic League and the Men in ROME cannot handle the TRUTH.

I sincerely hope Mr. Edwards doesn't bend under the pressure of yet ANOTHER lobbyist trying to squelch free speech that doesn't fit into their PR picture.

[demnan]

10. To Edwards campaign: Ignore them

All you have to remember is how these creatures treated John Kerry, calling for his excommunication from the Catholic church when he was on the campaign.

[Cassandra]

11. "vulgar trash-talking bigot"

describes William Donahue perfectly. He's an anti-Semitic, anti-gay, misogynist scum.

[underpants]

16. Donahue also ignores the Bob Jones part of the conservatives

very conveniently too

[Cassandra]

17. I have noticed over the years...

that he's always willing to make excuses for conservatives. Isn't that called situational ethics?

[underpants]

18. That's one of the things they call it n/t

[Mass]

12. And this is important enough to warrant a piece in the Times.

Are there so little news to cover?

[FrenchieCat]

25. Maybe the point is "Paid" bloggers.....

I don't like this part...

Astroturf socks infiltrating the Grassroots is probably part of the strategy......of the Paid Bloggers.

Not real support; but paid on the net perharps.

[Mass]

28. Many candidates have paid bloggers. As long as it is clearly stated, it is fine.

And these two had been announced.

However, it seems he is ready to fold at the first attack of the RW cohorts (see my post down thread).

[Beelzebud]

19. Doesn't Bill Donohue have child raping priests to defend?

[Mass]

21. Media Matters on the article.

Media Matters gets it right. Blaming Donohue is not the issue. He is a RW wing nuts, so there is nothing surprising.

NYTimes, on the other hand, is supposed to be a reputable newspaper. The outrage is that they are reporting on Donohue without saying who he is and without calling him on his hypocrisy.

NY Times, AP reported Donohue's criticism of Edwards campaign bloggers -- but ignored Donohue's own controversial comments and inconsistent outrage
The New York Times and Associated Press have both reported criticism by Catholic League president Bill Donohue of two bloggers hired by John Edwards' presidential campaign; Donohue contends that the bloggers are "anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots."

But neither the Times article, by reporter John M. Broder, nor the AP article, by writer Nedra Pickler, included any mention of Donohue's own history of vulgar, trash-talking bigotry -- or of Donohue's decision to dismiss anti-Catholic bigotry on the part of a key anti-Kerry operative in 2004.

In 2004, Media Matters first detailed anti-Catholic comments made by Jerome Corsi, who, as co-author of Unfit for Command (Regnery, 2004), was one of the ringleaders of the smear campaign by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- a Catholic presidential candidate. Among Corsi's bigoted comments:

* CORSI: "So this is what the last days of the Catholic Church are going to look like. Buggering boys undermines the moral base and the laywers rip the gold off the Vatican altars. We may get one more Pope, when this senile one dies, but that's probably about it."

* CORSI: "Boy buggering in both Islam and Catholicism is okay with the Pope as long as it isn't reported by the liberal press."

...

[mmonk]

31. Not all priest are child rapists.

My cousin was a good person who served humanity well IMO.

[FrenchieCat]

22. What do these "Professional Bloggers" do?

Do they hire astro turf who sell their ware where we grassrooters are?

Is this what the barn on the compound is housing? Paid bloggers?

I don't like this.

at all.

[Mass]

26. Edwards folds face to the RW and fires the bloggers.

(who may be rehired) according to Salon.

Edwards campaign fires bloggers

The right-wing blogosphere has gotten its scalps -- John Edwards has fired the two controversial bloggers he recently hired to do liberal blogger outreach, Salon has learned.

...
Speculation from sources that the two bloggers might be rehired was bolstered by Jennifer Palmieri, a spokeswoman for the Edwards campaign, who said in an e-mail that she would "caution against reporting that they have been fired. We will have something to say later."

...
Leading the charge against Marcotte -- and to a lesser extent McEwan -- have been bloggers like the National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez and Michelle Malkin. Malkin originally accused Marcotte of trying to scrub Pandagon's archives of material that could be embarrassing to the Edwards campaign. When that proved untrue, Malkin posted a correction, but said that the fact that she had been wrong was "even worse for the Edwards campaign" because "its blogmaster left crackpot posts like that one up and hired her anyway."


-- Alex Koppelman and Rebecca Traister

[benny05]

30. Salon article isn't credible

There is no confirmation about this at juncture. Even MyDD says that. Stay tuned.

[Mass]

35. I certainly hope it is not true, but am not sure why there is a delay.

These two bloggers have not written that while they were working for Edwards, so the situation was known when they were hired.

This is a real mess and I do not understand why the campaign cannot give a definitive answer. (aside from my indignation with NYTimes and AP becoming the RW stenographer)

[benny05]

37. Campaign has a right to delay

It's their decision to make, not ours. Demanding they give us an answer right away is ludicrous, and certainly not Presidential. This is not like the swift-boats were denying what John Kerry said. This is about 2 bloggers, for crying out aloud.

Edwards is on the road in two different places in the plains states today, 4 places in the South in the next 2 days. Weather has been terrible. I say we back off and see what happens. P

ersonally, I hope they put them in another place in the organization, but the negotiation is between them and the senior staff.

When details come, they will.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. I Hope This Is Wrong

Those people and the Edward's campaign should be able to say whatever they please. The kowtowing to the radical right is getting old. They DO NOT REPRESENT MAINSTREAM AMERICA! They are the lunatic fringe, no matter what they claim.
The Professor

[Robbien]

33. If this is true, Edwards has made a huge blunder

Well, we will see.

[Catchawave]

34. Should Ana Marie Cox (Wonkette)be fired from Time.com ?

I saw her on Imus the other morning, and he reminded her how many times she used the F word in her book !!! Time's a family magazine dammit, off with her head too :silly:

[benny05]

39. Good point, Catchawave

It's as though women are supposed to behave without using expletives at all times.

Population control is a serious problem, and I don't get it why some interest groups are pushing to get privacy between our doctors and people to pushed out of public policy of now making public what should be private between a person and her/his higher power.

Ridiculous.

[mnhtnbb]

36. I hope Edwards doesn't fire them. I do hope he sets some expectations

for them regarding use of language. And I also hope he tells Donohue
that he doesn't get a say in who he hires for his campaign.