The Debate on Progressive Discourse Blog Style

Over at Blue Oregon, one the Northwest's most substantial progressive blogs, there is a debate or "bar fight" going on to assess the merits of the blog's six year run. Here's my take on Blue Oregon and progressive discourse in general:

For the most part, Blue Oregon does a good job as a forum for progressive discourse. The real problem as I see it (and it is certainly exemplified in the election season) is what "progressive discourse" has become. The root of the frustration that some folks have with Blue Oregon's propensity to back candidates such as Jeff Merkley for U.S. Senate is the same core shortcoming that many progressives reveal in their inability to accept that another's position is as reasoned and as intelligent as their own.

The majority of the voters who will help carry a Democrat back to the White House or replace Gordon Smith do not work in front of a computer all day. They do not have the time nor the inclination to peruse progressive blogs. And if they did, it might only prove to enhance their disdain for the party that they are "supposed" to be aligned with. Sometimes, I feel like the best thing that Blue Oregon does is reveal the deep extent to which progressives like to hear themselves speak and not listen. On a regular basis, Blue Oregon is able to reveal the progressive's increasing disconnectedness with the working people who are his or her only ally in achieving the political ends that he or she seeks. For that, I applaud Blue Oregon because we won't fix the problem until we realize how substantial it is.