If Bob Brigham had told me that his boss might, possibly, could, may one day, even in the most outside of possibilities, propose an alliance with teabaggers to kill health care reform if she didn't get her way, I'd never have taken his phone call.
Like the Kos diarist who called this to my attention, I didn't know much about Jane Hamsher until she started getting paid to advocate for the public option. I never even read her blog, Firedoglake. I had barely come across her in 2008 as yet another whiny blogger complaining that the Obama campaign wasn't advertising on her website. Called her out on it during the general. Called her out on her thinly veiled blackmail threat last summer. Told her to blow me once. Good times.
So it's no surprise to me that Hamsher is now advocating a sordid alliance with teabaggers to kill the health care bill, and wallowing in the attention by pimping it further, complete with another pitch for another blog of hers. The pimping never stops with these people. Never.
What was surprising is that Bob Brigham would work for her this summer, getting paid by Firedoglake to advocate to state blogs for the public option. In Ohio, we remember Brigham for his brief tangential role in payola-tinged Jerome Armstrong infected blog bullshit during the 2005 Sherrod Brown primary early days. Not the most fond memories of Bob Brigham on my end. So this summer, when Bob Brigham called me on the phone, completely out of the blue, that was surprising, too.
But I'm all about building bridges to get something done to move our country forward, so I took the call from Bob Brigham, heard him out, and helped out with some pretty damn good public option blogging. I support the idea, still do, liked the idea of making House members pledge to vote "no" on a bill without a public option. I had no delusions that any of this would make the public option reality, I just wanted to do what I could do. Put my money (which equalled zero) where my mouth was (which equals something more than zero).
So it didn't take much convincing from Bob Brigham, who at the time was pitching the same schtick to every prominent blogger in Ohio. I pressed Bob Brigham on his funding sources, which he said were all small online donors. I have no reason to doubt that, so I even gave Bob Brigham advice, some intelligence, some inside scoop, over a few Gmail chats and long late night phone calls. I got nothing out of it, just a few links to my blog, and a good warm fuzzy feeling that I was doing good.
Then Jane Hamsher, who paid Bob Brigham to "reach out" to bloggers in Ohio and other states, decides to align with teabaggers to kill the health care bill.
So here's my advice to Bob Brigham, and anyone else who is paid to "reach out" to bloggers for any reason. If you ever, EVER work for someone this duplicitous, this disloyal, who will turn on Democrats in such a manner, DO NOT CALL ME. I don't want to hear from you. Bob Brigham, that means YOU. This is Ohio. Democrats in Ohio fight for Democrats to win. We do not, EVER, pull the horseshit your paymaster just pulled. Maybe your previous experience with Ohio didn't teach you that lesson, Bob, but I certainly hope this one will.
And to my readers who may wonder why I was the most vocal public option blogger in Ohio, here's your answer. I believe it's a good idea. Period. I was asked to blog louder on the public option, repeatedly, by a paid member of Jane Hamsher's staff. And I still support this health care bill without it.
Why? Because I'm a Democrat who supports a Democratic president who I helped elect. And if you're not on board with that, at any time, on any issue?
Eat me.
Cross postedat Plunderbund.
