Donald Douglas brought a post from Pam Geller to my attention the other day, and it got me thinking. Is there really a dirty little secret on the Right?
Actually, it’s a big dirty secret. [Scroll for updates]
I could not help but notice, over the past few years, the right wing blogosphere’s silence on jihad and Islam. When I started blogging back in 2004-2005, there were literally scores of counter-jihad blogs in an already crowded field. Seven years later, it is a paltry few, save for Jihadwatch, The Religion of Peace, Creeping Sharia, and political bloggers like Logan’s Warning, IOTW, American Power blog, Zilla, ….. [UPDATE: and The Right Planet].
The first jolt and obvious disconnect was back in 2008, when Michelle Malkin and Hot Air suddenly and without explanation stopped running Robert Spencer’s “Blogging the Quran” series and his Jihad Watch v-logs. They were fantastic, informational and needed. Around the time she dropped Spencer, Malkin had a short-lived show on Fox and was trying to get more exposure there, and she also stopped writing as much as she had about Islam and jihad. I was surprised and disheartened at the time, but was unaware that these were just some early signs of a decision by the most influential people on the Right to sanction the jihad and sharia with their silence. Silence is sanction. Malkin still posts on big jihad stories every now and then (as do other right-of-center bloggers), and acts as if nothing has changed and she is still in the fight, but it has gone to the periphery of her concerns. Bloggers have to cover big jihad attacks because if they didn’t that would be obvious.
But this is not about just Michelle Malkin — not by a long shot. I wrote about her because the evidence in her case is fairly clear. But it is also about all of them: Drudge, Rush, Kathryn Lopez of National Review, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, etc. The email below makes the Right’s actions intelligible. It is unlikely — in fact, inconceivable — that the blogger described in it, who saw his path to money and traffic in abandoning the fight against jihad and Islamic supremacism, was the only one. Obviously, many others have gone down this road as well. The big blogs on the right never link counter-jihad blogs. They have all but surrendered.
Now, I might not be a big blogger, but, quite frankly, I take offense to the smear that we have “all but surrendered”. I’m not going to get into the issue of Weasel Zippers having a problem with Pam and Robert Spencer. That’s his business. Same with going after Ace Of Spades. What I will say is that I doubt most bloggers, big, medium, small, are intentionally ignoring Jihad, Islamic terrorists, etc, particularly because Geller and Spencer push it hard.
From my own perspective, I think that many have just moved on. There are many others who do a great job, and, interestingly, Pam leaves out The Jawa Report. Oh, and that Robert Spencer’s Jihad Watch is linked at Hot Air, as are many other War On Terrorism blogs. Many bloggers got into counter terrorism when they first started back in the early 2000’s. That was one of two reasons I started, the other being the re-election of George Bush. I have 906 posts in the category of “War On Terrorism”, as well as many more under “RoP” (Religion of Peace), Islamification, and Dhimmitude. But, time can change concerns, and when our own country is being destroyed by Obama and the Democrats, well, it’s kinda hard to be focused on Islam.
What the counter-jihad blogs do is great, and necessary. But, not everyone is that focused, or hard core (I do not mean that in a bad way), on it. There was a time up till a few years ago when I would intentionally look for stories on Islam. My own priorities have shifted, so, along with typical political stories, I focus on anthropogenic global warming.
The blogosphere is constantly shifting. Back when I started, blogs judged themselves not on traffic but about links. There were constant meme’s being passed around. The themes (ie, like these) were constantly changing. How often do you see a theme change now? Especially big changes? I’ve had the same theme for at least 2-3 years. Before then, I probably had at least 10 themes. I often changed every 6 months or so. And many used theme switchers. The blogosphere was wide open. There was more humor, more off-beat. Personally, I try to still post non-political stuff now and then, of course, many of the wacky stories are linked to “climate change.”
Things change.
But, what this seems to be about is Weasel Zippers having a problem with Pam Geller. Somehow, though, this was turned into “the Right doesn’t give a crap about counter-terrorism anymore, and they are doing it because they are scared, are being moderate, and are selling you out.” That the big blogs have to “watch what they say.” Poppycock. Mule fritters. Pelosi(4)! Just because we do not write about it that much anymore doesn’t mean we don’t care, just that it is not top tier on what we write about now.
There is no big conspiracy. Does anyone think that if Michelle Malkin or Ed Morrissey had a problem with Pam Geller they wouldn’t have told her? And that the info wouldn’t have ended up on Geller’s website? The most likely reason for the loss of focus on jihad, sharia, terrorism, etc, is that, again, people have other concerns, particularly as we watch our own country be destroyed.
Agreed- I know where to go for my Jihad info, and where to go to read other interesting stuff, ie Pirates Cove for enviroweenie updates. I can easily go to Gellar, AP and WZ for updates on the every single day Islamic insanity in the Middle East and elsewhere. And if something stands out, will also see it on most blogs. Making mountains out of mole hills if you ask me.
I myself go to those same sites. I often include links from counter-terrorism in my Sunday Pinup post, more often from Geller, Spencer, and the Jawa Report.
And when there is a big terrorism/jihad/Islamist story, it will be on the big blogs. I actually have a story I wrote yesterday about Islamists in Tunisia, just never got around to posting.
Well, I popped in to read your full response that IOTW linked to and then responded to.
http://t.co/G4HZYL0i
I think you’ve a pretty good handle on the argument.
I love both Robert and Pamela.
They are specialists in their field, and I’m damned glad they are there for the on-line community.
Many of the machinations and general goings on of the overtly radical Muslim agenda would have gone completely under the radar if it hadn’t been for people like them. (Especially for us dumb ‘hicks in the sticks’, like yours truly.)
But to demand that all others cover the same territory as them or to link to them, and to somehow equate that with censorship and selling out?
Bull-pucky.
I’m somewhat hesitant to say, and I may be wrong, but it sounds more like now that these former associates have moved up the popularity ladder (so to speak), they feel left behind.
I’m sure that’s not fun for them, and maybe their feelings were hurt that their efforts weren’t amply rewarded – I don’t know.
But maybe, just maybe, the reason for the success of people like Malkin and others is that they deal in a MULTITUDE of issues that they feel that the conservative base is interested in – not just a specific slice of the political pie. (Bad analogy, I know…)
And frankly, dragging names like Rush, Mark Levin, and others into the argument gains them no sympathy from me.
At that point it sounds more like ‘sour grapes’ than a rational appeal. And trying to drag others down to make yourself look better? THAT is a progressive tactic right up there with handing out trophies to all the losers of a foot race…
One of the first things I learned as a conservative was ‘Life Ain’t Fair.’
One of the first things I learned as a capitalist was ‘Sell a product the people want and need, and they’ll come to YOU to get it.’
“Of course the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you – if you don’t play, you can’t win.” – Robert A. Heinlein
You nailed it. I know that Weasel Zippers posts a ton of terror-related things, and the finger pointing at Malkin is ridiculous. As I commented at American Power, there are OTHER subjects to blog about, Pam ought to remember that. I have a lot of respect for her, but, I found her essay over the top.
EXACTOMUNDO.
Things change. People change. Insights change. Interests change. NEEDS change.
I joined in on Brian’s SnappedShot photo-blog back around 2007 during all the Mid-East photoshopping was going on. He let me join in to add some spice to site. He even invited a few others. They moved on. My life moved on along with my attention span for certain issues. Brian even moved on for the most part. His blog is now more photography driven and he is very good at it.
But, more people are now more worried about the economy, jobs, our political LIFESPAN, than overseas jihadism. We allow that others will watch that for us and keep us informed. We don’t need to see it all the time from every blog. We like that there is disparity amongst our viewing pleasures. That’s freedom of choice.
I like visiting Teach and his irreverent blog because he is funny, entertaining, poignant, and his views fairly mirror my own. He writes what I would write if I wasn’t lazy and tired of thinking and kept my own blog up to date.
So, thank you Teach. Keep on keeping on. AAAaarrrgghh!!
I find that pretty offensive on Pam’s part, and that kind of “your dedication is weak!” attitude is one reason I stopped reading her site. Islam and the renewed jihad is one reason I started blogging, and mine has hundreds of posts on the topic. But, as you say Teach, times change and other topics come up. Nowadays, I wait for something that particularly catches my eye, rather than just post everything that’s relevant. Spencer and Raymond Ibrahim do a great job with that, anyway.
I don’t consider myself a big blogger, but I just write what catches my eye. It just so happens there are many things besides Islam that piques my interest, thus they wind up as posts. I seldom know what I am going to write about until I begin.
Blogging is a strange animal. Almost like an amoeba in that it shape-changes with some frequency.
That said, I don’t believe that there is a jealousy factor on the part of Pamela and Robert. They are not insecure people — not at all.
Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing, but Pamela does shoot from the hip quite often. Hey, that’s her style.
Anyway, yesterday Pamela amended her statement by putting up a blog list of smaller anti-jihad blogs.