Doom Report!!!

At HillBuzz (no link for concern-trolls):

I am now going to officially keep track of every “Doom Report” filed at RedState by Erik Erikson that repeats the corrupt media’s standard propaganda that “Obama’s going to win!”. I’m going to similarly monitor Allahpundit at HotAir and Ace at AceofSpades as well. These three guys repeatedly post articles that depress and demoralize conservatives by largely repeating things the corrupt media purposefully says to help Democrats. I am tired of it and want to build a dossier on these three sites to document the Fifth Column activities over there that breed Eeyores amongst Republicans.

Um, where are these demoralizing posts of mine, exactly? Or of the cobloggers?

I'm actually doing something I'm not sure I should be doing -- cocooning. Not mentioning bad polls. I'm not sure if I should be doing that, but I have been ignoring bad polls for two weeks now.

Should be... not linking them even more aggressively? Not mentioning them even more vigorously? Ignoring them with even more fierceness encoded into my non-existing posts about them?

And I don't even agree that cocooning is a good strategy. This Rocket Scientist is obviously a big fan of it. For me, I'm a less sold on the political value of what is, when it comes down to it, lying to readers.

But I've also noted that in any contest, the other team gets the ball too, and sometimes they score. And this is not a reason for the fans to start screaming "Fire the coach!" or "Put in the second-string quarterback!"

There are going to be dips and peaks.

That said, since I've embargoed most bad polls since they started turning bad, I'm not really sure what this Rocket Scientist wants me to do. Do dozens of posts on "Democratic skews"? Just keep posting the Joe Pesci soundbite, "Everything this guy just said is bullshit"?

One of the things that's truly annoying about political movements is the large number of people who don't really have particularly interesting minds, and don't write particularly interesting things. So they appoint themselves to a position long held by uninteresting people: Morale Officer. And, like Morale Officers throughout time (the US had them in military; the Soviet Union had them for civilians) they don't actually do much to improve Morale; they just insist it should be better, and if you are not Regulation Cheerful, you are a Malcontent and must be Disciplined.

I'm a big fan of happy endings. I don't like drama. I don't like wallowing or depression. I don't like internet shit-fights. I don't like whining.

I don't like Bummers and in fact go out of my way to avoid them -- and actually I think I'm going too far on the side of No Bummers, because I do sometimes worry that I am presenting a cockeyed-optimistic view of the world to readers.

But then, I remind myself they are surrounded by the Make Believe Media, just as I am, and they almost certainly read and hear of these things elsewhere.

So I do, in fact, try to make the site a relatively happy place, and I think I do an okay job of it. A lot of people write to me to say things like, "Your site is one of the few keeping me sane right now."

I'm not sure what the self-appointed Sandals, Jamaica Fun Coordinator at HillBuzz would like me to do. Organize a limbo? Hard to do as we're not in the same room.

But I suppose I shouldn't complain too much. Newsflash: Uninteresting people say uninteresting things; film at 11.

By the Way: In 2010, I spent four of five weekends before the election traveling across the country -- Boston, Las Vegas, NJ, NYC -- to organize/popularize citizen volunteering for Republican campaigns.

I was pretty damn worn out after that-- working during the week, then canvassing and phone banking for candidates on weekends.

What did you do, Sparky?

Some people talk. Other people do.

The Morale Officer may have some use (opinions vary), but he's not out there actually on the field, is he?

No, he's a REMF.

Link For Volunteering: Anyone who actually wants to do something positive should probably stop Mau-Mauing people who are obviously voting for Romney (and whose readers are all voting for Romney) and try talking to some people who aren't necessarily voting for Romney, at least not without some encouragement.

FreedomWorks has a big suite of organizing/voter contact software, too.

posted by Ace at 01:59 PM

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