Sullivan-Bashing From Gay Patriot West

Yep:

It seems, however, that since 02/24/04 (the day the president announced his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment) Andrew has been bending over backwards to appease those who once reviled him....

His perplexing politics in 2004... do not show much commitment to conservative principles. While claiming to be a fan of Ronald Reagan, Andrew endorsed for president that year a man who had called the Gipper’s administration an era of “moral darkness.�

Jonah was right to question Andrew’s use of the Greenwald quotation. It shows how eager this one-time conservative is to label Bush-supporters as blind followers of the president. At the same time, it seems that Andrew is becoming increasingly eager to join a crowd which finds fault with the president’s every action. He accuses us of being blind followers; he is increasingly become a blind opponent. As I’ve written before, I once enjoyed Andrew’s blog because (at least when I read it) he offered both praise and criticism of the president. Now he’s short on the praise and long on the criticism.

Now, whenever I check out Andrew’s blog, he seems to be, albeit with greater eloquence and wit than most, parroting the latest talking points of the DailyKos. It’s too bad because as perhaps the first gay conservative to gain prominence, he was a pioneer who made the path easier for many, including your humble bloggers here. He once showed great courage in articulating his beliefs in environments hostile to his ideas. He offered a unique point of view, often with profound insight into the issues of the day. And he endured unwarranted slights from those unwilling to argue with his positions.

It’s too bad that his latest rhetoric increasingly resembles that of those who once slighted him so unfairly.

What could account for this? Well of course there's the FMA. But RCL thinks there's another reason.

...how blogdom now has an A-list, how corporations are now in on the business, how links can build a lot of traffic, how money can be made. After reading it, I should confess to some sadness. I miss the days when it was just one dude writing his thoughts to whoever wanted to read it. I hope bloggers don't get too entranced with traffic and ad revenues, although they are addictive in a way. It should still be fun - and a blog with a hundred readers can be just as effective in what it does as one with a million. If your goal is chasing readers and revenue, rather than just venting to whomever, you risk losing what makes blogging so fresh...

-- Saint Andrew Sullivan, Last of a Dying Breed

"Big-time blogger and writer Andrew Sullivan held a legendary pledge drive back in 2002 and received about $80,000 in donations from readers. For bandwidth, I presume. That’s hot. But that’s not all. His subsequent pledge drives (two in one year?) generated about $120,000. Good grief...Well, a few days ago I read on his blog (I check it once in a while) that he was taking a break to travel and write a book.

--LaShawn Barber

And then there's the Time magazine deal.

Look, I don't begrudge Andrew Sullivan his success (oh yes I do), but it does occur to me that it's a hell of lot easier to be picked up by a major, non-internet-based media outfit if you're bashing bush than if you're defending him against his bashers.

posted by Ace at 10:50 AM

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