Edwards and the tale of the two bloggiteers

Hired and fired and rehired fast enough to give you whiplash. But it proves that Edwards can stand up to the rightwing and actually say the right thing:

Senator John Edwards:

"The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me. It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor, or anything else. But I also believe in giving everyone a fair shake. I've talked to Amanda and Melissa; they have both assured me that it was never their intention to malign anyone's faith, and I take them at their word. We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked. It will take discipline, focus, and courage to build the America we believe in."

Amanda Marcotte:

"My writings on my personal blog, Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics. My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact."

Melissa McEwen:

"Shakespeare's Sister is my personal blog, and I certainly don't expect Senator Edwards to agree with everything I've posted. We do, however, share many views - including an unwavering support of religious freedom and a deep respect for diverse beliefs. It has never been my intention to disparage people's individual faith, and I'm sorry if my words were taken in that way."

Glenn Greenwald:

This was a smart and potentially significant move by the Edwards campaign on several levels, the most significant of which is that it signals that Democratic campaigns aren't going to capitulate to contrived controversies manufactured by the lowest and basest precincts in our political culture. There is more Edwards could have done with this, but still, he stood resolute in the face of an intense and ugly coordinated media/right-wing swarm and rendered it impotent.

Nobody is going to be casting their votes a year from now based on the pre-campaign postings of Amanda Marcotte or Melissa McEwan, and the only ones who will ever speak of this again would never have voted for Edwards in the first place, and only raised these issues in the first place with the intent to harm Edwards specifically and Democrats generally. That faction is the last one to which Edwards and other Democrats ought to pay any attention. John McCain will have to spend the next year pandering to the Bill Donahues and Michelle Malkins of the world. There is no reason John Edwards should, and it is good to see that he will not.

Bryan.

Lance.

C&L.

HuffPo.

NYMary.

Whig.

Sinfonian.

Mustang Bobby.

Scout Prime.

Chet.

skippy.

Res.

The list goes on and on like ripples outwards in a pool. Bloggers care. We have been driven to the blogosphere because the 'mainstream media' deserted us, lied to us, insisted that we were stupid and delusional. We saw what happened to Kerry, to Dean, to all the other candidates. We see what is happening to Spocko.

We refuse to accept that this is now the America we must live with. We won't lie down to the RightWingSmearMachine. It lies. It does not have our best interests at heart....if it has a heart. Edwards heard us and realized we are citizens who have found our voice, even if it is a small blog with few readers, we reach out, we echo, we connect, we support, we care, we count, we vote.

We love our country. That's why we are here. That's why we blog.

Update: Mustang Bobby points out that we yet don't know if they were fired.

Update: Ripley of The Zen Cabin quotes another commenter:

Legalize said:

February 8, 2007 at 1:36

I’m a the point where the first Dem candidate to matter-of-factly state…:

“With all due respect to Ms. Malkin, my campaign is not in the market of soliciting advice from disengenuous, fringe-right, cut and paste, bloggers with limited rhetorical skills, and an even more limited grasp of the issues on the minds of the vast majority of Americans. I respectfully submit that to accuse any campaign of hate speech after gleefully advocating internement, McCarthyism, and the cynical division of the public purely out of a petulant sense of entitlement over the definition of what it means to be a ‘pure American,’ smacks of rank hypocricy, and reflects the radical efforts my opponents will take to cling on to un-earned, and grossly disproportionate power. Such efforts are clearly out of touch with the desires of the public, as hers is a politics of failure, paranoia, division, and a lust for violence. My campaign intends to vigourously assert itself against the baseless and fearful smear-campaigns perpetrated by those who do not want their own records to be a subject of discussion – for good reason. Thank you.”

…gets my vote.