MDS | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

The McCain Blogger Call, again (!)

:sigh: I didn’t think I was going to have to dwell on this. I should have known this would happen somewhere, though.

TL;DR (aka short version): If you tell the campaign to leave you alone, expect them to honor your wishes. If you’re obviously anti-McCain, don’t expect them to bombard you with emails; it’s called “courtesy.”

Long version: Michelle Malkin and others are pissed that libs were at the McCain blogger call and they weren’t.

The McCain campaign holds weekly blogger conference calls with its candidate. There are many questions I know you’d like asked, but I’ve never been able to ask them because I haven’t been one of the privileged few conservative bloggers allowed into the McCain sanctum to ask those questions for you.

Yesterday, I learned that several far left-wing blogs were invited to participate in The Maverick’s blogger conference call session (it’s part of that Big Vision Thing). I e-mailed McCain’s New Media guy, Patrick Hynes, asking if I could participate in the next blogger conference call.

After all, McCain said yesterday he’ll “listen to any idea that is offered in good faith and intended to help solve our problems, not make them worse” and “will set a new standard for transparency and accountability” and “will work with anyone, of either party, to make this country safe, prosperous and proud.”

If he’s willing to take questions from hostile liberal bloggers, why not take some from conservative bloggers who represent substantial readerships with dissenting views on how best to make this country “safe, prosperous, and proud?”

I left my response (Patrick Hynes has already responded that she could of course attend the next blogger call) in the comments there, but as this has spread around the conservative anti-McCain blogs as “evidence” (not) of him snubbing conservatives, I need to post it here, because this is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Here’s my response, as written in the comments at Michelle Malkin’s:

In fairness, John McCain has ALWAYS taken questions from conservative bloggers with substantial readerships who have dissenting views, and he has taken their questions. I’ve been calling in since before I was a supporter, just as I would have with all the other candidates had there been the opportunity. I’m absolutely certain he’d have been happy to have you interested in the calls. In fact, you are on the official campaign blogroll. So are some other conservatives who aren’t exactly in his corner, along with some supporters. (Notably, no liberal blogs are there.)

Actually, at some of the earlier calls, MOST of the questions were from conservatives with dissenting views. There’s no reason you couldn’t have been there; the difference is, those bloggers (i.e. some at Human Events, Red State, Polipundit, etc.) were on Patrick Hynes’ blog outreach email list. He put out the call a very long time ago for bloggers, and was met with a whole lot of “hell no” answers (which I only saw because some people stupidly hit “reply to all”). Others, like me, welcomed the campaign outreach so we could be better informed. I was on the FDT, Romney, and Huckabee lists as well (Giuliani’s emails were virtually non-existent, for some reason). I called in to the McCain blogger calls with an open mind, even when I was still a die-hard FredHead - and I was a Fredhead before most, since January ‘07.

John McCain has not ever excluded conservatives, whether they support him or not. It’s a shame more of us haven’t made the effort to get information from the campaign. It was at these blogger calls where he answers all types of questions, where I decided to support him when Fred dropped out - and he was an easy choice for me at that point.

It’s all about that blog outreach email list. If anyone wants on it, I’m sure all they’d have to do is ask.

And it’s not like people on that list aren’t blogging about these blogger calls, anyway, but then I know at least I have lost readers who don’t want to hear anything positive about John McCain. Gotta love the narrow-mindedness.

- - - - -

That was met with this nugget of (cough) “wisdom” (cough) in the comments:

Did anyone ask McCain about immigration on this conference call?

I saw a whole bunch of questions on foreign policy, and none on defending America. Looked to me like a very odd bunch of “conservative” bloggers.

And there you have it–a whole chunk of the anti-McCain conservatives in a ~~nutsack~~ nutshell.

Of course, nobody asked about immigration on this call, because this was probably the 50th or so conference call with him. It’s certainly been asked in other ones with him, though. Generally, people stick to topics that are currently buzzing through the media. I say “generally,” because occasionally there are different questions that one might not expect.

Looked to me like a very odd bunch of “conservative” bloggers.

Well, I was there, and I don’t even know everyone who called in. However, Jim Geraghty, Michael Goldfarb, and Jennifer Rubin certainly ARE conservatives, as am I.
Furthermore, Ed Morrissey (probably - he’s at all the others), Philip Klein from no less than The American Spectator (no liberal rag), at least one from Red State, and plenty of others with unassailable conservative credentials were there, and usually are there in other calls. As was I. Oh, I forgot - I’m an “open borders liberal” (LOL!) because I support McCain, in the eyes of some of these people.

I’m not making it up about Hynes getting his head bitten off when he first asked people about the email list something like a year ago, either. Most people appreciate it when they’ve asked not to be contacted if their request is honored. I’m guessing that if that particular commenter had been contacted about getting on the email list, he’d probably have said “no thanks,” at best. Consequently, he would also not have had the blogger call information.

Furthermore, I’ve personally invited conservative blogger friends who aren’t McCain supporters and aren’t on the email list if they’d like to call in. I’ve let everyone in my email group of bloggers (Cotillion) know. Some call in, others don’t because they can’t make it for whatever reason. But it’s not like they aren’t welcome - I’ve asked Patrick every time if I could invite others and he’s always said “yes, of course.” And guess what - some of those bloggers aren’t McCainiacs, either.

I suppose I could just as easily have emailed Michelle about the blogger calls as anyone else (not that email from me is “special” and read more carefully than anyone else’s), but based on her opinion of McCain, I figure such an email would be met with disbelief and/or left unanswered. She does get a ton of email, after all. My mistake, I guess.

Personally, I think it’s silly to assume the worst in everything, with regard to anything but especially to the Republican candidate. I don’t expect any conservative or Republican is going to march in lockstep with our elected leaders, but it’d be nice if people could at least be open-minded enough to consider that maybe they aren’t out to get you. The so-called McCain antipathy toward conservatives is wildly exaggerated, if not pure fantasy. But then, if people want to feel persecuted, I suppose that’s their choice (they need to get over themselves). I’m a lifelong conservative, and I don’t feel that way. I don’t agree with everything McCain is for, but I don’t agree with everything ANY candidate is for. 80% is more than good enough for me.

None on defending America.

LOL.
That line alone told me that commenter is beyond reason or facts. I’m not sure why I even bothered responding to it, but as I suspect the immigration-MDS crowd shares that sentiment, I did. It’s mind-boggling.

Seriously. How bad does it suck to feel victimized all the time? I just don’t get it.

stein hoist Also see: Doubleplusundead, for a good discussion in the comments with another conservative (a reasonable one) who’s dissatisfied with McCain. (Note to other cons pissed at McCain: that’s how you can be heard and influence opinion. Be reasonable.)