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Karl Rove's Love-Hate Affair With Blogs

Karl Rove has split personalities when it comes to blogs.

Catch him when he's in a good mood and he'll sing the praises of conservative blogs like NewsBusters. He has even made attempts to court bloggers who are friendly to President Bush. But catch Rove in his role as former White House Chief of Curmudgeonliness and you'll get a rant about the evils of the netroots.

The curmudgeon within apparently got the better of Rove yesterday when he spoke at Yahoo's "Rise Of Citizen 2.0" event. One of his messages to users was that "Blogs give angry people an undeserved voice." Michael Bassick wrote a full report at techPresident:

"People on the fringe are no longer voiceless," noted Rove. Blogs have the unintended effect of giving "angry kooks" an "inexpensive soapbox" and a sense of "pseudo-anonymity" that "brings forth the worst angels of our nature." He trashed Daily Kos and the liberal blogosphere for using more "dirty words" than conservative blogs like Townhall and RedState.

"The netroots, he said, "argue from anger rather than reason." Many, he believes, blog for "personal release" and not "political persuasion." He argued that the netroots have been largely ineffective and said MoveOn.org’s inability to end the war proves his point.

I am both amused and dispirited by Rove's flip-floppiness about blogs.

On the one hand, I understand it because the blogosphere, like the mainstream media, has its good points and bad points, its winners and losers, its heroes and villains. On the other hand, the fact that Rove clearly only likes bloggers who help his cause or share his views shows that he, like too much of official Washington, still doesn't appreciate the medium. What a shame.

Ironically, a year ago tomorrow, John Cole of Balloon Juice, blasted conservative bloggers as intellectually dishonest by comparing them with ... Karl Rove. And Marshall Wittmann once (jokingly) wondered aloud whether Rove is secretly responsible for all of the "bile" on lefty blogs because Wittmann thinks it only serves to undermine the party by moving it left.

UPDATE: Read more about Rove's comments and the liberal blogosphere's reaction to them at Fishwrap, The Nation, Think Progress and Washingtonian.

Posted by Danny | 08:13 PM

Comments

Umm, what did you expect him to say? This is Karl Rove, Republican operative #1.

If you ask him what he thinks about apple pie, he'd say something like "Republican apple pie is the heart of America, a healthy nutritious part of a wholesome diet. Democrat apple pie is an sick nutriciousless fattening poison which pollutes the precious bodily fluids of America".

And then you'd say he doesn't appreciate apple pie as a food for itself.

Seth Finkelstein | 11.09.07 12:18 PM

I don't see the problem, Danny.
Karl Rove likes conservative blogs and dislikes liberal ones, especially the profane ones.
Ditto here.

Don Surber | 11.09.07 01:30 PM

I think Seth is taking it a little too far, but yes, what did you expect? He sees the good points (particularly those of the blogs he agrees with) and the bad points (particularly those of the blogs he disagrees with). Completely normal.

Agent Karl Rove | 11.09.07 01:48 PM

Be VERY careful how you speak of the Dark Lord!

Parker | 11.09.07 01:58 PM

Gee Seth, me thinks you protest from anger? As a personal aside, I have indeed tasted, in my lifetime, good and very bad apple pie.

Sue | 11.09.07 01:59 PM

Karl Rove should visit timblair.net sometime. True, it's an Australian blog, therefore irrelevant to American politics, but its readership are largely right of center, supporters of John Howard, and in ridicule of the lunatic fringe on the left, we venerate Karl Rove as our Dark Lord and Master, arbiter of all that is evil and right-wing.

RebeccaH | 11.09.07 03:10 PM

Yes indeed - the good apple pie shows the democratization of cooking, where the citizen-chef now has the ability to make a dish which is the equal of any big foodie production. Whereas the bad apple pie, well, restraurants can make poor meals too, and what about the night that famous chef burned everything, and anyway people have gotten food poisoning from the Mainstream Feedia.

Seth Finkelstein | 11.09.07 03:40 PM

It's all part of the broader trend of technology bulldozing all of the pre-information age structures.

Chris S. | 11.09.07 04:44 PM

Who in the world CARES what Karl Rove says.

HE STARTED ALL OF THIS.

I'm one of those bloggers and I guarantee you, it is the RIGHTEOUS ANGER of a very MAD WOMAN VIET ERA VET.

Now, if THAT isn't "America Talking" I don't know what is.

They don't put "Kool-aide Drinker" and ROVE'S NAME together for nothing.

This slimy little sadistic slug is just that.
The slime of mankind.

mommadona | 11.09.07 04:48 PM

I'm sure momadona didn't intend to prove Karl Rove right.

MenloBob | 11.10.07 10:16 AM

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