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November 27, 2007

Projecting Much, Stantis?

TODAY'S STRIP

Scott Stantis has some major issues. This week we're exposed to the problems he has with women who aren't afraid to put their opinions out there, and we learn that if Hillary is a bitch, then Arianna Huffington is a dominatrix. Or maybe he sees her as the new Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, it's not quite clear yet.

Winslow is still blogging for HuffingtonPost.com - for FREE (dun dun DUN!!!). And Arianna is still holding the whip, hypnotizing poor wittle witless Winslow into believing he should write for the site for free while she makes all the dirty filthy money. You see it's wrong for someone to want to make a website and actually make money off of it by offering liberal writers a place where they can write whatever they want, whenever they want, at no charge.

Yeah, the logic Stantis is using is pretty mind boggling.

I'm guessing that Stantis has a real problem with Arianna giving different people an avenue to get their views out there (especially dasterdly liberal viewpoints), but since they volunteer to do it for free while she makes money off the site then she's eeevil. Hmm, a Bush Republican criticizing someone for making a profit? That doesn't sound right.

He might have a point if Arianna really did have to bully people into writing for her site, but if you've ever stopped by HuffPo it's clear that there isn't even enough room for all of the different posters to have their voices heard. And if they didn't post on HuffPo, where would they go to vent about things like the Bush administration or the writers' strike? Why they'd have to start up their own websites - and odds are few people are going to want to read just what one person has to say once every two weeks. Damn you, Arianna, for giving people on the left a platform to voice their opinions!

I think what's really going on here is that Stantis is jealous of how the left has used the internet as a political tool. There isn't anything like HuffingtonPost on the right (maybe Pajamas Media - see below for a rant on that), but they've tried time and time again. The liberal netroots organizations like Act Blue have outraised right-wing internet sites and were a big part of swinging the Congress towards the Democrats in 2006. And I guess for conservative Stantis Arianna needs to be criticized and punished for daring to provide a site that brings together all kinds of viewpoints on the left side of the spectrum - especially since he has his own daily platform WHICH HE GETS PAID TO DO.

Once again, hypocrisy - thy name is Stantis.

(Side note: I thought that it was wrong-wrong-wrong to EVER bring up the gulags when talking about politics these days. When Dick Durbin compared Guantanamo Bay to the gulags he was tarred and feathered by the Republicans. Apparently it's okay for Stantis to refer to them though when trashing HuffPo. Like I said, hypocrisy...)

***

I know I've already rambled on today, but I want to bring up another issue with today's strip. Stantis has Arianna saying that Winslow is better than those commentators who make money off their work. As if bloggers are rolling in the dough on their sites.

First off, wrong. Most bloggers (like us here at the Ville of the Shrub) do it for free. The bigger ones do start making money - but usually it's just enough to keep the site going and maybe, just maybe if you're big enough, to start doing it full time.

Secondly, there's a dirty little secret behind right-wing bloggers. Much like with ring wing publishing, Republican bloggers tend to be supported by what Jane Hamsher has referred to as "wingnut welfare." While the bloggers on the left started out doing it because they were passionate about getting their thoughts and opinions out there, the Republicans realized they were behind the curve and started to subsidize their own websites. The reality is most conservative blogs lose money, but thanks to some deep red pockets they're kept alive and well. Someone like Arianna, who started HuffPo on her own and has made it one of the biggest blogs on the left without the deep pockets of the Democratic party, must piss off guys like Stantis who realize their side hasn't figured out a way to turn a profit (or don't want to turn a profit - they just want to get their talking points out there) or be politically successful on the net.

Or that the only reason their conservative comic strips are in the newspaper is because a funnier, more successful liberal strip is already there and the papers feel a need for "balance." And the only way a strip like, oh, I dunno, Prickly City can stay in the papers is if the writer is paid to continue to spew right wing talking points. Sucks to be you, Stantis.

Comments

Posted by: John at November 27, 2007 11:03 AM

Posted by: Chris at November 27, 2007 04:16 PM

Posted by: Chris at November 27, 2007 09:57 PM

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