Since my last post, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan both resigned from their positions on the Edwards campaign. I can't say that I blame them. After all this media coverage they would have been under such substantial scrutiny it would have been nearly impossible for them to efficiently execute their duties. They also would have lost considerable cred within much of the blogging community for going mainstream. Blogging is still largely seen as an individualistic, rebellious art form untethered to any rule book - and jumping on the payroll of a rich white man's presidential campaign is about as antithetical to that concept as it gets.
Blogging often has a grand-standing, exhibitionist quality to it. But presidential campaigns are supposed to be all about focused teamwork - the only member allowed to display maverick behavior is the candidate.
In Marcotte's rebuttal to the tactics of the right-wing blogosphere, particularly the experienced and effective vitriol of Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, she eloquently details the lengths fanatical groups will go to in order to silence any perceived threat. Marcotte apparently thought she was too low on the food chain for her presence to register with the opposing camp.
It is in this regard that she comes off as rather naive, especially for someone who has several years experience in covering progressive politics. Nothing is too minor to be exploited, as long as the spin machine can effectively mold public perception to see it as a scandal.
Marcotte also makes seemingly valid accusations of sexism from her detractors, who have told her she would be much more pleasant if she weren't so angry, and telling her to suck their dicks. She has also endured excoriating criticism for using four-letter words in her blogs. These are words that males in the blogosphere are rarely questioned for using - in fact it's largely expected that they use them.
I guess even in the supposedly anything-goes world of blogging, they've already built a glass ceiling.
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