There was a recent kerfluffle at FDL that in the light of presidential election, Jane Hamsher, FDL’s founder, felt it necessary to restate and clarify the site policy regarding diaries and commenting. I agree with what Jane said:
In the contentious 2008 Democratic Presidential primary, there were many members of the FDL community who passionately supported one candidate over another. We chose as a blog not to endorse either candidate because we did not want to alienate either significant sector of our community.
Moreover, we firmly believe that elections are the time when candidates are the most responsive to the needs of the constituents whose votes they hope to woo. [..]
We believe that the Presidential election should be a time for healthy discussion among those who have different and often passionately held points of view. [..]
Individual writers on FDL may take different positions. It does not mean that as a blog we endorse any of them. Our goal is to make a fair home for all sides of this discussion, and not shut it down. [..]
The one thing we have no interest in being is a mind-reading site. “You just want Obama to win” or “you just want Romney to win” or “you just don’t care about X” furthers no conversation. Its only intent is to poison the discussion and launch a pie fight. [..]
Our only goal is to foster a vigorous and open debate on FDL in the ensuing months. The fact that we will not be playing the role of arbiter is not a reflection of any hidden agenda, but rather a continuation of what we have historically sought to be during times when our community is intensely divided: a town square where a fair discussion of the merits of all sides can take place.
That is what our goal is here at The Stars Hollow Gazette and Docudharma
Thank you, Jane, for all you do.
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If your candidate is so fucking awesome, s/he should withstand the scrutiny, no? And even if they are flawed, why fear exposing those flaws? There never has been, nor ever will their be, a perfect candidate. Voting, by definition, involves making a cost/benefit analysis. I think it is always better to have voters informed when they make that decision.