And They Say Republicans Are Liars

I need to go back to that Cincinnati Enquirer article Bizzy sent me yesterday to illustrate what I'm talking about.

In the article, Chris Baker of the Ohio 2 blog is quoted:

Chris Baker, a Dayton computer consultant who writes the Democratic-leaning blog.oh02.com, which closely followed the 2nd District race, said off-color gossip takes away from the political debate that he's worked hard to encourage on his site.

"It's embarrassing to the region that we are talking about people's sex lives when we've got much more pressing issues," he said. "I hope people will realize that it's ineffective because you're not going to be able to regulate this away."

Now with words like that, you'd think that Ohio 2 is all about the debate of issues and ideas, right? So, why is it that we consistenently see headlines like "No Peace for the Wicked Republicans of the 2nd" with a lede of "Yow! Can’t a Congresswoman get a moments peace to funnel billions in Katrina and Rita relief money to White House croneys?" (Emphasis was all Chris')

That's a real mature debate style you got there. Shows that you are really above the fray.

We can all criticize the Blower for his style until we're blue in the face, but at least he has the courage to be who he is and not take cheap shots at the rest of the blogging community. When given an opportunity from the mainstream media, we should all be stressing the positives involved with blogging. That article was supposed to be about the FEC meddling with our right to free speech.

Sniping at each other in the paper is not going to help us when Big Brother comes a knocking...that's all I'm saying.

11:20AM Update

In the comments, everybody's favorite Bizzy Blogger, Tom Blumer, sheds some light on part of what Chris was talking about. I may have misjudged him to a degree, but I think the point is still fair...