Amen.

the original article was about DailyKos and MyDD and how they started the netroots mobilization. I think it makes sense that they would go to those people for comments about the article. (Ezra Klein is a regular contributor to TNR)

Most of the first bloggers were male.

does that mean female bloggers aren't allowed or informed enough to comment on the roots of blogging? just because they didn't do it first?

I'm pretty sick of people ignoring women in the tech fields... and they wonder why we're stigmatized against getting into the field.

The common statement on internet chats is: "IRC where men are men, women are men, and 14 year olds are FBI agents."

There's now just so much doubt about whether someone is a female or not, that people just presume male, until proven otherwise. Why should I have to show pictures, talk on the phone or show an ID to prove that I'm a female?

This sort of thing highly irks me, because this is the field that I'm in... I work with one other woman on a team of maybe 30-ish people. It's pretty frustrating to be surrounded by all the misgynistic jokes flying back and forth, and I do tell them that I don't want to hear that crap. Doesn't mean that they really stop.

"does that mean female bloggers aren't allowed or informed enough to comment on the roots of blogging? just because they didn't do it first?"

Um, no. It just means that they aren't primary sources.

"There's now just so much doubt about whether someone is a female or not, that people just presume male, until proven otherwise. Why should I have to show pictures, talk on the phone or show an ID to prove that I'm a female?"

They assume that if you were a real woman, they'd already have seen your webcam.

Bearcat - i slogged through the whole damn article and it is NOT about the roots of the netroots. The article is actually more broadly about the politics, tactics and impact of the netroots. In oder to tell that story, Chait devotes some time to talking about the netroots history.

Since most of the article is about the here-and-now of the netroots, there is absolutely no reason they couldn't have had, say, Amanda Marcotte join in.

The interesting thing was that this article was all about the netroots as the new Democratic Machine. It thus focused on the blogs that serve mainly to strengthen the Democratic Party, while bringing it to the left. I've noticed that female bloggers tend to be less lockstep in the party line than men, probably because we, as women, know that while the Democrats may be our best bet, it's still a Boy's Club.

"there is absolutely no reason they couldn't have had, say, Amanda Marcotte join in."

Except that Marcotte's blog isn't as prominent as MyDD, she never wrote a famous book that inspired the netroots as much as Perlstein's work did, and she's not a regular TNR contributor (because let's face it, her style isn't exactly intended for TNR's audience). This is a stretch.

lunasol is spot on as usual.

i slogged through the whole damn thing too. rick perlstein is not in the article and none of the dozen or so white male bloggers mentionned in the article are tnr contributors.

more specifically, perlstein is not quoted but nine white male bloggers are quoted concerning party strategy. two female bloggers (marcotte and mcewan) were mentionned not concerning strategy but as victims of the edwards campaign. i know kos is hispanic but he never addresses racism. the netroots is sexist but it's also very racist. here is an amazing post about racism in the white male blogosphere from the unapologetic mexican. and if you're a woman of color, don't even get me started.

i know nezua's post is very long. make sure to read his blog. you won't regret it.

"i know kos is hispanic but he never addresses racism."

And why does he have to? He obviously feels (rightly or wrongly) that there are more important issues (his is a specifically partisan blog). You sound a great deal like one of those obnoxious trolls that come around here asking why we talk about fashion models when there are women being stoned in Iran.

bearcat:

There's a whole phenomenon that Afro-Am Studies Social Scientists study, about how no brown politician can gain a lot of popularity without putting race issues on the back burner (Obama, etc.)

The whole idea is that race /is/ a huge issue in our country, there are a lot of problems surround it, just like there have always been, yet it's still not something enough progressives prioritize.

sexism is never addressed. racism is never addressed. homophobia is never addressed. over 70% of the population is never given proper respect and attention.

the article said dems have to focus on winning and ignore pet issues. well those pet issues are the most important issues for over 70% of the population.

the real pet issue is white male issues.

so the cover story of the new republic, how the netroots became the most important mass movement in u.s. politics. the left's new machine mentions thirteen white people (including garance), ten men and three women.

anyone else have a problem with the racism and sexism of the netroots, "the most important mass movement in u.s. politics?" except. this "mass movement" excludes 65% of the population.