You know as someone who got less hits all of last year as Robert Stacy managed in the month of November you might expect me to put up a “look at me” post to drive some traffic over here.
It’s a real measure of how far LGF as fallen to see him putting up a “Look at me” post. There was a time when he was one of the top 10 bloggers around. But when you have thrown almost everyone under the bus, censored comments and stifled dissent and attracted readers with all the friendliness of a Basil Faulty something has to be done.
A lot of this stems from his feud with Pam Geller but the breaking point was actually in April when Glen Beck hit him. The real bus throwing started around that time.
Ironically I wrote a post defending Johnson that week, and a quick follow up that didn’t take sides. I then discovered Robert Stacy’s Magnum Opus on the subject that prompted a long post of my own, my first comment , link and regular reading of his blog.
The turning point for me was was two fold, the Van Jones story and gave this warning:
one must always beware the specter of Sullivan’s syndrome that turned a once reasonable blogger into a Bush hating trig truther. Beck’s issues (and he HAS some) do not make the Obama administration in general or Van Jones in particular clean. A lot of Bush Derangement and Palin Derangement comes from the it
I accepted Charles Challenge to research Jones and found evidence that supported his position, it was also around that time that I got more into comments on LGF and discovered that like the Senate and amendments the real action at LGF is in comments. It was in comments that I had a personal dispute with Charles where I considered myself slandered and demanded satisfaction. After pressing the issue I got an acceptable response in comments and deleted the detailed post on the subject I had prepared. That really opened my eyes but since the response was acceptable I was ready to leave it there.
Then came the attack on the Tea Parties in general and Robert Stacy in particular.
to me the attack was cheap and came from nowhere. Robert Stacy being Robert Stacy did what was required, he fought back but more importantly people who knew him spoke up for him leading me to say this:
I don’t know Robert Stacy McCain personally, but after hearing his friends come to his defense, I sure would like to.
As I followed the fight in detail I investigated in the same way and concluded that Charles behavior dishonorable:
However there is another factor here, Robert Stacy McCain is the father of six. Those six carry his name and to some degree his reputation. He is fighting for their honor, his father honor and his great grandfather’s honor. He also as a father has to set the example for his children to stand up for themselves. If he lets this go without satisfaction he the example he will be setting will be terrible. As a father I see it and nod.
This is why as long as there is not an honorable resolution Robert Stacy will make sure in the words of Jeb Stuart whom he quoted “He will regret it but once, and that will be continuously.” It is not possible for him to do anything else, the consequences otherwise are too great and the longer it lingers the smaller the chances of an honorable solution will be..
All of this ended in my banning at LGF and others (Hi Peg), sudden LGF love from Andrew Sullivan and Firedoglake my single favorite post. Some brief defenses from Charles’ minions in my comments, and a long phone call from Robert Stacy which began a long distance friendship.
In the meantime LGF was last linked by Glenn Reynolds Aug 27, 2009 (on rathergate) and Charles last mentioned by name on April 16th 2009 (Beck v Johnson can’t we all just get along?). Robert Stacy’s Instalances? I count 11 Instalanches for him since Charles last one.
And here lies the REAL reason for today’s post by Charles…
Look at this page, you will see that Charles last instalanche was his 234th. Roll that number in your heads bloggers that is 233 more than me (are my posts that boring?) His first instalanche was April 22 2002. So in a 90 month period that is an avg of 2.6 instalanches a month or just under one instalanche every twelve days. Just to remind you here is what my one instalanche from last Feb did to my traffic:
Also consider that an instalanche means other blogs will pick up your posts in reference. Imaginable the cumulative effect of this happening every two weeks for 8 years. It is mind boggling!…
…and then it suddenly stops!
Now suddenly his blog has to stand on it’s own two feet, Charles is a good programmer and his blog design is in my opinion one of the best on the web but what good is that if you aren’t getting the traffic?
The left already hates you and doesn’t link, Glenn doesn’t link and neither does the right, even LGF watch hasn’t posted on him in over a month what do you do?. He choose Rule 4. Pick a fight but it can’t be just any fight, the right has left you and the left doesn’t trust you enough to link so to win the left over it is necessary to pick the Right Fight!
Plan A was to hit Sarah Palin via association, it took 5 days but Rachel Maddow picked up his attack obliquely. But it still didn’t do the trick, the hits didn’t keep coming so now comes plan B…
Pull an Ariana Huffington/David Brock: The left absolutely LOVES people who cross over. His post today is an attempt to get Dede Scozzafava attention. She has become the left’s favorite Republican. This is Charles play to get love from the lefty bloggers in general and maybe even MSNBC.
If he can manage to get himself on Maddow’s show he will have the attention he wants, it will not be the Instalanche but it will do.
This is all about ego and Charles need to feed it. Will it work, that depends on the if the left thinks he can be a useful idiot. At the moment he has the idiot part down pat but his support of Israel and the war on terror (proving his has not totally lost it yet) is going to be a sticking point, but maybe that will be their “big tent” move. Here’s how I think it will end…
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I can hear the words from Charles now: “All right Mr. Reynolds I’m ready for my instalanche!”
Update: He got a link at Politico, that might be his “in” to morning joe. Will the plan work?
Meanwhile Ann Althouse (who still gets plenty of instalove) puts it in perspective:
Personally, I don’t need to go through the exercise of figuring out what happened to Johnson. I’ve avoided him all these years because he seemed too extreme and hateful. Now, he’s fired up about other people being extreme and hateful? And he’s fired up in a way that seems extreme and hateful? I do not need to go there. That was never my scene.
You don’t need to go there but he needs your link. This is trolling for an instalanche to start and MSNBC to finish.
Jules who is quoted by Ann expands on it:
I would have preferred a detailed description of the moment when all that inclusive thoughtful concern hit him like a silver bullet, when the switch flipped on the bright shining light on the road to Damascus, when … enveloped by its warm, mentally balanced, nurturing embrace … he started frothing about the hateful craziness. Also, how the crazy hating on his new side of the aisle fits into his new anti-hate/crazy world view. Not on offer in this brief crazy hate-a-thon. But it’s pretty obvious he bought this line that it is all about crazy hateful bigoted insurrection, which comes across ironically as crazy and hateful sounding.
Jules you aren’t getting it, it’s about the hits today that will be up and the gig tomorrow that he dreams of.
Update 2: Can we now safely say that HotAir’s move of Charles to their left channels slot was right? I still have a front page link to him myself, it is the “Rush Limbaugh, Honorary Lizardoid” link that goes to his Oct 20th 2006 post by that title. He has not pulled it yet or re-directed it. It will stay there to show we remember.
Update 3: Jules Crittenden links, thanks! I’ve always wondered if he was the newspaper guy standing next to me at the Boston Tea party talking about how he got out in time to another reporter.
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