Brooks idiocies

I don't usually involve myself in spats between bloggers, but David Brooks's anti-Kos column in the NY Times today was so idiotic that I feel compelled to respond. I'll do so by re-printing part of Atrios' response:

The notion that Markos is sitting around telling bloggers what to do is just ludicrous. There are bloggers who spend time try to herd the cats somewhat through organization and discussion - not through any top-down control efforts - but Markos isn't even one of those people. And, contra Jedmunds, this doesn't involve attempts to manipulate the "sheep" who are our readers, but rather how to sometimes influence the wider media-poltical bloodstream through emphasis and fact-based messaging. You know, sometimes bloggers discuss stuff. The horrors.

But, to reiterate, the reason Brooks's column is so funny is because it's so wrong. Markos has a big megaphone on his site. If there are bloggers out there who fear being mean to Markos because maybe he won't link you then perhaps you need to rethink your whole relationship to the blogging thing. But otherwise Markos is not one to spend his time controlling the blogosphere. Markos barely reads blogs, let alone tries to tell people what to put on theirs.