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Friday, February 29, 2008

The Most Powerful Journalist in the World

It was suggested earlier this morning, with some snide contempt, that Matt Drudge, he of the world famous Drudge Report, was “one of yours.” That is, a supposedly loathsome conservative.  On behalf of those of us on/in the Right, I accept.

According to the UK’s Telegraph this morning, Mr. Drudge is now “the single most powerful journalist in the world.”

Ten years ago, he was a reclusive, pasty-faced 31-year-old who, bashing away on his laptop in his grungy Hollywood apartment, shot to prominence when he threatened to bring down Bill Clinton’s presidency by breaking news of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Today… he remains an elusive, mysterious figure but the internet pioneer is arguably the single most powerful journalist – though his detractors even deny that is his occupation - in the world.

(T)he world of the Drudge Report (is) a world in which the successor to Walter Cronkite and Bob Woodward is a loner with no university education or journalistic background. He is now surreptitiously courted by the media and political elites that once derided him but now fear he has the power to change the course of an American election.

The Lewinsky scandal and the 2008 presidential campaign are the bookends to what could be described as the Drudge decade. At the start, he was the antagonist who came from nowhere – Bill Clinton initially fumbled the site’s name, calling it the Sludge Report. By the end, he had become Hillary Clinton’s weapon of choice against Mr. Obama.

Like Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge is one of a kind… a unique figure who stands gleefully astride an audience he created.  An audience without peer on the Left.

Read the whole thing!

Comments

> Drudge is always and only negative!
> Drudge is loved by many conservatives because he gives them amunition not to communicate positive ideas for America’s future, but to attack and hopefully destroy their political enemies.
> Thus far Drudge has done nothing to earn such worship as to foolishly assert ‘he’ has the power to change this election.
> Drudge only sees the gutter in everything and thus the pleasure he gives the author of the UK article and other conservatives that are consumed with anger at anyone that will not exactly follow their narrow, conservative dogma.
> Drudge is not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination, he does not dig for facts and fairly present them and then allow the public to interpret them, he spins every word through his dirty mind.

I have never seen any honor or deceny in this man whatsoever and even if he helps defeat some liberals and get some conservatives elected, it is only incidental to his political sludge machine, it is not his goal. He is no Rush, he does not entertain, only attack.


No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

Neiman on February 29, 2008 at 10:45 am

Drudge is not that conservative.

If you listened regularly to his radio show, you would see that he rails against corporations, and especially about monopolistic corporate media control. The guy also obsesses about the weather in a way that would make Art Bell proud.

His big things are celebrities, politicians (same thing in his mind) and gossip, pretty much in that order.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 10:51 am

OH SHIT! I must have misread McCracken, someone help me by telling me where I made my mistake, it sounds like he is not ready to canonize Drudge either. I absolutely know I had to have misread or misinterpreted his comments, but I cannot find my mistake - I need to be rescued from this freaking nightmare!


No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

Neiman on February 29, 2008 at 11:05 am

Not to mention, Neiman, you have zero credibility when you complain about attacks or negativity.

You with your ‘enemies list’ and using weird biblical attacks against people.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 11:15 am

Ah well, a little bit of innocent humor is wasted on a character deficient bug like you, isn’t it. It was just humor butthead! Considering our dislike for one another, I thought even you might find my comments amusing. Sadly for you, I have moved on, but because you are so childish, you have stayed put in your personal sewer and of course, I am always willing and able to debate pathological liars (you) anytime, anywhere.

But, I do appreciate the father of all liars (you) and the Crown Prince of Conservative attack artists (you) judging another person’s character. It is like Adolph Hitler (you) telling a little Jew boy (me) to watch his temper. (Yep, I am a Christian by faith and a German-Jew by blood!)

To be attacked by someone of your low, vile, dispicable character, a man absent any trace of honor (you) and absolute hatred of the truth (you), is a badge of honor. Thank you! We are known by our enemies and when they are as loathsome, dishonorable and deceitful as you are, is is a great compliment to me that I am on the opposite side.


No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

Neiman on February 29, 2008 at 11:33 am

Neiman, you don’t know a goddam thing about me.

You don’t know me in real life, you don’t know my experiences and beliefs.

It is presumptuous of you to think you somehow really know me in any real way.

I don’t even dislike you, Neiman, for those very same reasons.

You are annoying, however.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 11:36 am

You with your ‘enemies list’ and using weird biblical attacks against people.

My only enemies are those that despise the Truth! (You again). Once they admit they lied, I am quick to forgive and forget!

Her is another deliberate lie from you, I have never; that is NEVER, in any way, shape, manner or form used the Bible to attack, demean, ridicule or denigrate anyone here at SA or anywhere else. That is all made up in your sick mind, because I would not back down in the face of your lies!


No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

Neiman on February 29, 2008 at 11:37 am

Name one lie I have perpetrate, Neiman.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 11:39 am

I should point out that you did indeed insult me in a biblical fashion, by calling my father the Father of Lies, then calling me the Father of Lies above, and calling me either Satan or the son of Satan (I forget which) in previous threads.

I will accept your apology for calling me a liar now.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 11:47 am

1. You said that you did not promote the idea that International Law was the Supreme Law of the Land, I proved over and over by your own words that you did say exactly that and why you were wrong, not only that you promoted that idea, but that you lied about the intent of the court decision supporting that idea.

2. Again, you are lying! I used Scripture to point out that when you lied, only then, you were acting more like a child of satan than not, at that time. I then offered an amplification showing that Jesus used it in the same context and that he was not attacking Peter, only what Peter said. Thus, I attacked the act of lying, not the person and I made that clear!

You are incapable of telling the truth.

Here is my last words, you can keep playing this childish game all you want and show yourself for what you are, but several times I offered you an olive branch, offering to admit I might have erred, misread or misinterpreted your words and intentions; but in every case you threw it back in my face and decided that defending your lies was more important to you that finding a way to make peace.

That is it, you can play your childish, spiteful game all you want. I documented your lies over and over, I then tried to find a middle ground for peace and you choose to wallow in your hate. Have fun! I am moving on!


No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

Neiman on February 29, 2008 at 12:03 pm

1. You said that you did not promote the idea that International Law was the Supreme Law of the Land, I proved over and over by your own words that you did say exactly that and why you were wrong, not only that you promoted that idea, but that you lied about the intent of the court decision supporting that idea.

No, you didn’t. You failed to provide any quote where I said that international law takes precedence over the Constitution. If you have such a quote, show me.

2. Again, you are lying! I used Scripture to point out that when you lied, only then, you were acting more like a child of satan than not, at that time. I then offered an amplification showing that Jesus used it in the same context and that he was not attacking Peter, only what Peter said. Thus, I attacked the act of lying, not the person and I made that clear!

You insulted me, and you used scripture to do it.
You threw a biblical insult at me, Neiman.

Ken McCracken on February 29, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Seems as though I’ve heard this before...naw, must’ve been dreaming.

Correction, having a nightmare.

Bat,

Other than a few breaking stories, I’ve never been much of a fan of the Drudge Report. It seemed a bit unsavory at times.

But I can’t deny his success.


“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

laydownSally on February 29, 2008 at 01:45 pm

Wow, another pissing match with Neimann involved. What a surprise!

Honestly, though, I don’t understand the big deal about Drudge. He has an ugly little website where he just posts links to whatever catches his attention first, without commentary. The links are all over the map, more than half of them are boring, and all are disorganized.

His radio program was boring as he talked in monotone, relating stories devoid of interest. It was hard to listen to.

We give the man too much credit for one story he broke long long ago.

Kenny on February 29, 2008 at 01:58 pm

Sally, Kenny,

I probably wouldn’t have posted this story at all if some twit hadn’t started in this morning about Drudge being a “conservative” mouthpiece.

Personally, I find Drugde to be the digital cross between USAToday and the National Enquirer.  But I suspect that like Rush, O’Reilly and Fox News in general, most of his critics have no real idea what they’re talking about, and wouldn’t know any of them if they bumped into them getting out of a cab in NYC.

Liberals, as a rule, are awfully quick to prattle pompously about stuff about which they know absolutely nothing.


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on February 29, 2008 at 02:22 pm

...someone help me by telling me where I made my mistake…

The temptation is almost overwhelming.

I absolutely know I had to have misread or misinterpreted his comments, but I cannot find my mistake.

No great surprise there.


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on February 29, 2008 at 02:32 pm

Agreed.

I like to tape O’Reillys’ show, so I can buzz through it quickly. Truth is he does at times have worthwhile stories.

But when Letterman was asked, after critizing the show as moronic, how often he’d watched it...he said he had never watched it.

Typical.


“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

laydownSally on February 29, 2008 at 02:37 pm

Sally,

It’s easy to criticize people or occurrences of whom or which you have no personal knowledge.  Ask Neiman!


“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Bat One on February 29, 2008 at 03:28 pm
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