MetaChat - Recommend me a good (lefty) US political blog.

MetaChat is an informal place for MeFites to touch base and post, discuss and chatter about topics that may not belong on MetaFilter. Questions? Check the FAQ. Please note: This is important.

29 April 2008

Recommend me a good (lefty) US political blog. The one I used to read every day has gotten intolerable. →[More:] Even though I agree with their political beliefs 99% of the time, I can't take the shrillness, the inability to pick their battles (freaking out over every little thing). And yeah, the repeated petty insults hurled at those of us in journalism have worn me down, too. (Esp. since one of the blog's principals never passes up a chance to be on CNN.)

I'm looking for something that posts a lot of news articles. DailyKos is great, and bless 'em for what they do, but they're more election and activist oriented... I want something that aggregates a lot of different news sources. I don't care about the discussion/commenting very much, though if there's intelligent discussion to be had, that's a nice bonus.

So, do any of y'all have a daily political read that fits the bill?

post by: BoringPostcards at: 11:37 | 19 comments

What's the blog you've given up on? Both out of curiosity and to avoid recommending it...

posted by mullacc 29 April | 11:43

No help here. I pretty much hate all politics (though I sympathize with environmental and human rights policies). Yesterday I was forced, literally forced, (OK, maybe not forced) to watch FOX News for an hour while I got my car worked on. That's what's considered news for half the people in the country? It made me want to claw my skin off. This may be old news for most of you, but I haven't had TV for a few years. Derailing rant over, get back to what you were doing.

posted by DarkForest 29 April | 11:52

mullacc, it was Americablog. (I'm not reacting to anything on their front page right now, which is one reason I didn't name the site right away.)

posted by BoringPostcards 29 April | 12:01

I really like Pam's House Blend. It tends to focus on LGBT and race issues (and the intersections thereof) but has a lot of detailed commentary and analysis about both state and national politics (she is in NC) that I really appreciate.

Otherwise, there's:

1. Firedoglake.
2. 1115.org isn't bad
3. And, of course, Talking Points Memo.

posted by sneakin 29 April | 12:01

p.s. Search around AskMe because people have definitely asked for recommendations on political blogs recently and I think you'll find leftier stuff there as well.

posted by sneakin 29 April | 12:02

Some of the (too many) political blogs that I read:
1. Atrios
2. Washington Monthly
3. Open Left

posted by octothorpe 29 April | 12:06

sneakin, I do read Pam's House Blend- she's very cool, and runs a good blog. :)

I'm looking for something else a little broader in scope, though, to go with it. (I should mention I also read Cursor, but it's more a re-cap of the previous day than it is a feed of current stuff.)

Thanks for your and octothorpe's other recommendations, though... keep 'em coming! I'll probably bookmark a whole bunch of these and start skimming them all until I find a new favorite.

posted by BoringPostcards 29 April | 12:15

I stopped reading it because I'm weaning myself off politics until December at the earliest, but Crooked Timber meets all of your qualifications as far as I can tell except I think some of the contributors are from the UK.

posted by drezdn 29 April | 12:35

That looks GREAT drezdn- thanks!

posted by BoringPostcards 29 April | 12:43

a good (lefty) US political blog

Just for balance you may want to consider other persuasions as well. I can't give any recommendations because I quit reading all blogs completely, but y'know, well rounded and all that.

posted by netbros 29 April | 12:50

Absolutely always a good idea, netbros.

posted by BoringPostcards 29 April | 13:23

BoringPostcards, I getcha. I'll keep my eyes open!

posted by sneakin 29 April | 18:01

Are there any lefty political blogs that are not necessarily all about race, gender, GBLT, etc., and are just kind of for pastie white guys for myself that probably should be republican but just can't do it?

posted by Doohickie 29 April | 18:29

Well, Doohickie, Balloon Juice is run by an authentically white guy who left the GOP about a year and a half ago (after achieving some prominence as a right-wing blogger). It's more entertaining than essential, but it's darn good.

Talking Points Memo, Glenn Greenwald, Carpetbagger Report (most link- and story-heavy), digby, Atrios, and Matthew Yglesias (also lotsa links, a little more idiosyncratic than Carpetbagger) are the left-leaning essentials, IMHO. Greenwald might be more of a libertarian, though, I am not sure.

posted by ibmcginty 29 April | 19:25

Orcinus and Sadly, No! are both worth a look.

posted by jtron 29 April | 23:04

I second Sadly, No! It's one of my favorites.

I've been a fan of skippy the bush kangaroo for a while now. Shakesville is always good. So is Crooks and Liars. And there's also Think Progress and Right Wing Watch.

I'd recommend the one that I occasionally contribute to, but that would be shameless self-promotion, and we wouldn't want any of that...

posted by syntax 30 April | 08:31

Well, these will keep me busy for awhile! Thanks, everybody. Good suggestions all.

posted by BoringPostcards 30 April | 12:18

Doohickie: TPM can cure you of that unfortunate predilection.

posted by trondant 30 April | 12:48

Ah, I see ibmcginty mentioned it above, but still you have a link now ;)

posted by trondant 30 April | 12:49

← SHOUTING THREAD! || Did somebody post a new Rube Goldberg commercial video here recently? →

HOME || REGISTER || LOGIN