The fuck? You wingnuts love wasting fucking time with absolute nonsense.

Sorry for the OT comment, but this is effing absurd.

I’d love to see the resident trolls defend it.

2) DOJ prosecutors/Josh Marshall

3) Trent Lott vs Marshall/Drum/Atrios

4) Several Congressional races the Dem Party wasn’t funding/ that the blogosphere located, marshaled resources and helped win (even though some turned around as Blue Dogs to bite the hands that fed them). Still, winning the Congressional majorities clearly took the bloggers.

5) Chris Bowers getting unused Senate warchests opened to aid competitive races.

6) Changing the perceptions of the war zones. Chris Allbritton’s unimbedded work is a standout, but others have helped here, including Iraqi bloggers.

7) Provoking the critical examination of MSM outlets from the earlies days when Bob Somerby led the way to others, like Media Matters, now.

Hundreds of examples of local coverage or deep research that have impacted events locally and nationally. It’s been the death of a thousand cuts to status quo coverage and politics, though the latter remains more entrenched because of the corruption of campaign finance as exploited by corporate lobbyists.

Bloggers on the left have had a vast impact. Pressure on sponsors about certain broadcasts. Getting the MSM to look at things that they previously shunned. Helping the rise of Air America and Jones Radio that spawned Maddow and Big Ed and Senator Franken to their more prominent and influential roles. Getting people like Kos, Hamsher, Wheeler, Sirota and many others into positions that get them invited to MSM news programs.

How many bloggers have been hired to work on winning campaigns? How many have run for offices themselves?

The rightists can point to a few accomplishments, a tiny percentage of what the Left has achieved. And the rightists were best at providing cover for ever law violation, war crime, betrayal of troops and intel agents, slanders of whistleblowers and other foul deeds of the Bush/Cheney organized crime gang.

The Left has made a few mistakes, as occurs in any profession, but none come close to the defense of crooks, kooks and mass murderers that has typified the rightists.

And don’t try to belittle the significance of having only a 5 vote margin when you have an 80 vote majority. You know what it means. And, if you don’t, that’s OK because Speaker Pelosi and Pres Obama know EXACTLY what it means.

Funny how all those were of paramount importance for the last 8 years but are the very definition of inconsequential nowadays.

Of course these things still matter. But I’ll lay most of the blame for them at the feet of the dickhead who started the whole mess.

And for certain things that could be easily rectified (e.g., DADT), yes, I am not happy with Obama. The others are a bit stickier, so I’m giving him some time and the benefit of the doubt for now. Although my patience is not infinite.

your definition of “success” is pushing a weak public option through the House by only 5 vote

Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not well-versed in legislative matters. Could you remind me how a bill passed with more votes is somehow “better”? Or how it is “more” of a law than a bill passed by 5 votes? Especially something as far-ranging and progressive as health care reform, which has never gotten this far before in the Congress?

with almost no chance of passing the filibuster-proof Senate without watering it down even further if at all

We’ll see. What kind of odds do you want to give me on a bet?

I’m glad you’re succeeding.

Thanks, Farris. I’m glad too.

Does this mean that Gitmo is closed?
And that we’re out of Iraq?
And we’ve captured OBL?
And we’ve ended the Patriot Act, FISA, domestic wiretaping, Executive Privelege and signing statements?
Not to mention DOMA and DADT.

Funny how all those were of paramount importance for the last 8 years but are the very definition of inconsequential nowadays.

When your definition of “success” is pushing a weak public option through the House by only 5 votes even though you’ve got an 80 vote advantage with almost no chance of passing the filibuster-proof Senate without watering it down even further if at all, well, I’m glad you’re succeeding.

So, yeah. You are right. They aren’t leaders, but they are preachers.

“con bloggers” had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with exposing the truth on John Corzine and helping to elect a Republican governor in a predominantly blue state just last week
No, they didn’t. Unless you think saying CORZINE SUCKS is any kind of actual uncovering of anything.

What they do have is a large megaphone for the conservative media, something the liberal blogs have not managed. Which is a shame, because the con bloggers are so often horribly wrong, and yet people pay them to be horribly wrong, because they are precisely wrong in a way that politically aids the Republicans. Not to say liberals can’t be wrong, but you only need to see how fast ‘death panels’ got onto the air to see how a really dumb idea can still be taken seriously, provided it’s yelled loudly enough.

No doubt the economy is hurting, but it’s the Bush Recession, not Obama’s. And recessions, even the worst one since the 1930′s, do end. Not sure why the GOP was too dumb to realize this and decided to bet against America in lock-step with Chairman Rush.

So yeah, I’ll take Obama’s chances for 2012 over those of Sarah Palin (a woman who cut and run from her position of leadership)or Mike Huckabee (LOL).

How exactly do you guys define “failing”?