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July 12, 2009

Pumas: Recycling the Right-Wing Talking Points

by AltHippo @ 3:23 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

The Town House is a bar in Washington DC. See here. Around the time of the 2004 presidential election a number of popular progressive bloggers were living in DC including Matt Yglessias, Matt Stoller, Josh Marshall, and Ezra Klein, as well as others. They would meet semi-regularly at the Town House. This was the origin of the Town House email list.

In 2006 Jason Zengerle of the New Republic posted a blog entry alleging that the Town House was being used to launder progressive talking points. Here’s how Glenn Greenwald responds to that post: (link)

Over the last few days, Jason Zengerle of The New Republic has been engaged in a bizarre crusade to depict “liberal bloggers” as a bunch of mindless, obedient zombies who take orders about what to write from Markos Moulitsas, all in order to ensure that they can continue to enjoy the great financial wealth lavished upon them by virtue of their participation in the “Advertise Liberally” network, which Markos founded but does not operate. To prove this “point,” Zengerle published what he purported to be various e-mails regarding recent accusations against Jerome Armstrong, which Zengerle claimed were sent to the “Townhouse” Google group — comprised of 300 or so journalists, political operatives, bloggers, advocacy organizations, and others designed to facilitate communication between these usually isolated groups. To the extent the “substance” of Zengerle’s accusations are worth responding to, Ezra Klein and Max Sawicky (among many) have done so quite thoroughly, respectively here and here.

So, it’s both laughable and predictable that the new Democratic-opposing bloggers, in this case the so called “pumas” recycle these old right-wing points. Take this post from Reclusive Leftist:

I don’t know if people here know about the “Town House” email list but it’s kinda interesting if you want to know how the political blogs operate or if you’ve ever wondered why you read the same messaging over and over again, in predictable cycles. Town House is/was a by-invitation only group that hands out acceptable talking points to be disseminated by its affiliated blogs. The idea of Town House was to create a method by which progressives could do what right wing radio does with its audience: get those memes started and re-enforced through sheer repetition. Challenge those talking points and you get chased off the blogs.

Of course, the Town House email list has nothing to do with handing out acceptable talking points. And why folks like Lambert repeat this kind of gossip is clear: this is a simple, if gossip-laden way of smearing progressive bloggers. This is what these formerly Clinton-supporting blogs have descended into: smearing the winners of the 2008 presidential contest.

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16 Responses to “Pumas: Recycling the Right-Wing Talking Points”

  1. TheBigotBasher Says:
    July 12th, 2009 at 5:27 pm

    It will be interesting to watch if if PUMA sites condemn the disgustingly homophobic article Flowbee allowed to be published on Nothalfbigotedscum.

    I have attacked it http://thebigotbasher.wordpress.com/2009/07/12/larry-johnson-sinks-even-further-into-the-cesspit-of-hate/

    but my site is just one of many tiny blogs. Will PUMAs attack one of their own for clear race hate and homophobia?

  2. AltHippo Says:
    July 12th, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    “Will PUMAs attack one of their own for clear race hate and homophobia? ”

    I think if a given puma already didn’t like that member “of their own,” then yes, possibly. Otherwise, not so much.

  3. TheBigotBasher Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 11:30 am

    I certainly do not think I should hold my breath for MYIQ=2 to do so. It was interesting over at the wider shins that they were worrying about whether the PUMA movement had been “infiltrated” by right wingers.

  4. lambert strether Says:
    July 16th, 2009 at 12:18 am

    So, how do you know that “Of course, the Town House email list has nothing to do with handing out acceptable talking points”.

    Are you on it?

  5. AltHippo Says:
    July 19th, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    When I need to publicize an event I will ask folks that are on the Town House list to say something.

    It’s fair to say that I know folks on the Town House list as a result of the DC Drinking Liberally events. And I trust their judgment. Which is why I think your suspicion is misplaced.

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