Redstate Sells Out

According to http://d-day.blogspot.com/... , the conservative RedState.com blog has been purchased by Eagle Publishing, the good folks behind Regnery Publishing. You can find the details from the horse's mouth at RedState itself.

Questions below the fold.

clammyc just recently had a recommended diary on RedState (and here) which brought this to my attention. Most of the comments at RedState are glowing and self-congratulatory, and I'm not sure if this one is meant as humor or snark:

Greetings to our new, Great Beltway Overlords! Long have we admired your wisdom, your bravery, your élan, your dashing wit, and the way you can sometimes cut around that Dreadfully Challenging part of the Beltway by taking 50! With your superior Beltway Warriors and the sort of keen insight that comes of having the best and brightest of all 50 states (and territories! and the Blessed District itself!), we shall truly conquer all!

For the Glory of RedState! For the Glory of Eagle! For the Glory of the Red Eagle! Deus lo volt!

It does raise the questions:

Is this is good or bad for RedState?

Is this good or bad for conservatism?

Is this good or bad for dailyKos?

And, for me, the blockbuster: what happens when/if Kos is bought by Disney?

•  Irrelevant

  I couldn't care less either way.

  by Jim J on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 09:52:30 AM PDT

•  I weigh in for "Bad for RedState"

  The nature of the blogosphere is that it mistrusts too much corporate involvement, and this is going to be direct corporate relationship (ignoring the "we'll leave everything the same" rhetoric from the Eagle Publishing folks) twixt the RedStaters and Eagle/Regnery.

  It will be even easier to cast aspersions on the conservative bloviatosphere/blogosphere with developments such as this.

  The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

  by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 09:53:30 AM PDT

•  Irrelevant

  RedState has, what, 3 users?  Most conservatives can't even spell "TCP/IP", let alone find their way onto the intarwebs.  They are best at the broadcast model--saves braincells.

  by RequestedUsername on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 09:54:57 AM PDT

  •  Now, now, now

    Yes, they don't have the user base of Kos (or Little Green Footballs for that matter), but they are a player in the conservative blogosphere. I don't find most of the posters there to be unintelligent (not much more than here percentage-wise), rather, misguided.

    I just find it foolish for them that as one of the few "reasonable" conservative sites on the web they would become a division of an extreme right-wing publishing zaibatsu like Eagle. Their independence is shite.

    I know WHY Red$tate $old out. That'$ the ea$iest thing in the world to under$tand!

    The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

    by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:02:51 AM PDT

    •  reasonable?

      it's impossible to have any reasoned discussion there. Just do a search of Tbone's comments and bask in the quality.

      Redstate is like arguing with 6 year olds.

      by SeanF on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:30:58 AM PDT

      •  I agree . . .

        but arguing with Freepers is like arguing with 2 year olds; arguing with LGF'ers is like arguing with rocks (particularly stupid rocks at that); and arguing with Pam of Atlas Shrugs is like arguing with a batshit psychotic mutant from hell.

        If arguing with 6 year olds is the best we can do, well, I've had two of them (older than that now) and I can state that it is possible to argue successfully with 6 year olds.

        BTW, apparently they can't say "batshit" on Redstate.

        The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

        by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:45:42 AM PDT

        •  there are some reasonable posters over there

          i'll give you that. Jon Sanders comes to mind. But if the overall tone is that of 6 year olds which it is, I would be loathe to then describe redstate as "reasonable" simply because the other sites are worse!!

          It might also be that since Nov 7, they've gotten a bit more bitter and pouty.

          I do love it when they threaten to ban someone for, not even profanity, but their tone. Really, it's nothing more than an angry circle jerk.

          by SeanF on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:08:40 AM PDT

          •  Hey, I put "reasonable" in quotes!

            The reason I used the quotes was to stress that the use of the word was slightly different than its normal definition, or as we perceive its meaning. We at dailyKos are mostly reasonable, those at Redstate are sometimes "reasonable."

            I don't think Strunk and White would approve of my use of quotes, but I tried!

            Main Point: Compared to some of the batshit crazy conservative sites out there, I'll still state that RS is reasonable (er, "reasonable").

            Or. Redstate is just a less stinky pile of [poop].

            The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

            by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 12:46:41 PM PDT

•  Sigh.

  Does this mean they change the interface again?  I just found my lost comments.

  by ek hornbeck on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 09:57:12 AM PDT

  •  Really?

    I haven't even figured out how to find my comments there...

    by ogre on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 12:23:12 PM PDT

    •  You have to be logged in...

      then it's in your profile under blog entries or something.

      by ek hornbeck on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 01:14:19 PM PDT

•  This just shows the futher division between the

  party ideologies as they become more corporate even in blogs and we, well, we are the party of the people.

  Just a more pronounced division.  

  Welcome Moderates and Independents!  You have found the party of the people and now get to work!

  by Barry Welsh on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:01:04 AM PDT

•  I'm thinking Pravda

  The revolution will be televised, comrades.

  by DH from MD on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:06:23 AM PDT

•  re

  Whether a dog craps on my lawn or my neighbor's lawn, its still a turd.

  by cookiesandmilk on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:11:34 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, but, but, but ...

    Big and runny turds are much worse than small and hard ones. Yes, both are turds, but some turds are more equal than other turds (sorry Mr. Orwell).

    The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

    by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:47:13 AM PDT

•  It will be interesting...

  ...to sit back and see what happens when Corporate Amerika gets its involved with a blog.  All the more reason to watch, gather impressions, and learn all the good reasons why this should not happen to independent-minded political sites.

  by drchelo on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:13:11 AM PDT

  •  you bring up one of the reasons I posted

    If some sucker of a publisher thinks buying Redstate is and intelligent corporate action, it's a good idea to consider, well in advance, what will happen WHEN Markos is approached to be bought out (if he hasn't already) by a corporate concern.

    My advice to Markos would be to take the $10 million they offer(!) and then just start a new blog called something like

    Formerly Known as dailyKos

    I think the only way such buyouts of grassroots sites would work is if the buyout is clandestine, and unknown to the innocent posters (ok, some of us aren't so innocent).

    The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

    by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:58:17 AM PDT

  •  Can you say HOTSOUP.com?

    Yahoo and MSNBC front-page their ramblings like they're the first blog to ever exist.

    by fabooj on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 12:29:58 PM PDT

•  they already self centered certain points of view

  views, it will be interesting to see how much more is censored.

  by Silent Lurker on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:17:13 AM PDT

  •  censure even gah! nt.

    by Silent Lurker on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:17:26 AM PDT

•  Thanks for the shout-out

  I was winding my way around to maybe writing this one up over here, but I'm happy just to get it out there. Oliver Willis has more.

  by dday on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:17:41 AM PDT

•  Purchased? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

  What a bunch of freakin' IDIOTS!

  Hey Eagle, you guys just bought a TURD.

  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!

  Best laff of the week!

  by reef the dog on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:39:35 AM PDT

•  The comment you cite

  is by one of the Directors of RedState.  In case it wasn't blaringly obvious, it was in jest.  I think that slipped by d-day's notice.

  And as if y'all really care, but unlike Kos, RS hasn't had a full time person who only focuses on the site.  My guess is that this change may allow that to happen.

  by Adam C on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:44:56 AM PDT

  •  the source of truth is irrelevant

    Even said in jest, there's truth in them thar comments.

    I figured it was being said in jest; it sounds like the crowing of someone who just got a big payday and doesn't give a [poopy] what anyone thinks.

    The Universe is a big place ... perhaps the biggest. -Kilgore Trout

    by fugitive on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:50:26 AM PDT

  •  oops

    will update

    by dday on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:06:20 AM PDT

•  Fire sale

  Get rid of the damaged merchandise before it becomes completely unsalable.

  by nightsweat on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 10:52:10 AM PDT

•  China. n/t

  by mattes on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:24:30 AM PDT

•  It fits with the stalinist inclination of the RW

  All top down, no room for the individual.  My guess is there will be big pictures of terry jeffries posted at  redstate and everyone will start spouting the same party line as human events. They're all stalinists over there and at town hall, where the comparable figure to jefferies is hew hughit.  charles johnson, of course, is the black figure at lgf, more comparable to Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame than to any real leader of the right. Kind of the influence behind the throne.

  by dougymi on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:26:11 AM PDT

•  Red State is now simply acknowledging obvious

  they always were an astroturf site, not a grassroots site.

  by Mumon on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:29:53 AM PDT

•  it means the conservative blogosphere

  doesn't know any other way but top down.  They're so community-strapped and money-hungry that it's all they can do.

  by thereisnospoon on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 11:32:16 AM PDT

  •  Makes sense

    It's the aristocratic model.

    by ogre on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 12:24:32 PM PDT