Digital thuggery wins...

The end of Red America after less than a week, after what can only be described as a week of digital thuggery from the likes of DailyKos, MyDD, and Atrios (no links - such thuggery deserves no support), is a sign of just how far the Left will go. Many were disgusted by some of the vicious personal attacks on the author, Ben Domenech, including AJ-Strata.

There were some allegations of plagarism, which I will not link to, as I am very suspicious of their source. But I will say that I am convinced by Domenech's explanation. I've been writing for Strategypage.com since November, 2003, and in the course of that timeframe, some of my pieces were edited. The same has happened with my pieces at TCSDaily.com. That is an editor's perogative. I will not claim perfection - no human being is perfect. I've made some mistakes in my life - and I expect I will make others. I fully expect that at some point, I may run into attacks of this nature, and in a sense, already have. Last May, I was a victim of identity theft after I took on a person who left bigoted comments on Austin Bay's blog (he's been on hiatus for knee surgery, and I hope he is recovering quickly). It was quickly dealt with and condemned, but recently, I found at least one comment that troll left elsewhere. Well, I'm not the type to cut and run from a fight.

It is clear to me, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the netroots of the Democratic Party have gone off their rockers. Rather than debate on the field of ideas, they resort to threats, character assassination, and personal destruction. More than just a blog is at stake. Freedom of speech is at stake. Disagreeing with someone's views on any political issue is no justification for trying to destroy their life. Even more so if you disagree with them in a public forum, or prove effective in advancing your political views.

One other thing is worth noting: Some conservatives decided it was easier to throw Domenech under the bus than to stand by him. I don't like that attitude. In this country, it's innocent until proven guilty, particularly in the presence of numerous scurrilous attacks from digital thugs like Atrios, MyDD, and DailyKos. I think one of the biggest explanations for Republican "spinelessness" is the fact that they have all too often been tossed under the bus by people who felt that somehow, the Republicans "compromised principles" by not getting everything in one fell swoop, or by passing a bill that contained an item they found objectionable in order to get other items of their agenda. Loyalty is a two-way street - and the best way to guarantee loyalty from someone is to show similar loyalty. Yeah, you risk getting burned sometimes, but it's always worth being known to your friends as someone they can count on.