INTERESTING LIBERALS

Kevin Drum has kindly listed me along with other right-of-center bloggers who are “definitely not idiots, and they frequently have interesting things to say.” (If I ever start putting endorsement blurbs on my sidebar, “definitely not [an] idiot” will certainly be near the top!) One of his commenters wonders if a conservative blogger has ever come up with a similar list. While I’m sure that several have, it’s more fun to pretend that I’m the first, as it gives me something to write about.

  • Brad DeLong’s Semi-Daily Journal: A Berkeley economics prof with a Harvard Ph.D. who served in the Clinton Administration. You can’t get more lefty than that! The guy’s a full professor ten years out of school, despite a two year detour into government service. Maybe the million or so publications on his vita explains it. Brad posts mainly, shockingly, on economic issues but he manages to be analytical without being abstruse or condescending.
  • CalPundit: It’s somewhat lame mentioning Kevin since he mentioned me first in this context, but I actually read and link him regularly. His essays are well written and often illustrated with handy graphs and charts. Bonus cat blogging on Fridays.
  • Crooked Timber: A group blog by some bright young professors, most of whom had/have their own blogs as well. Sometimes, the topics are a bit esoteric for lay readers but always well-writen and insightful.
  • Daily Kos: Markos Zuniga’s site is sometimes rather over-the-top. And, whatever you do, avoid the comments section. But Markos does his homework and has an interesting background–he’s an attorney and a veteran. He is an excellent resource for polling data and his Political State Report (of which I’m an occasional contributor) is by far the best source of information on politics in the 50 states and the District of Columbia I’ve found.
  • Marstonalia: Brett Marston’s site dealing with all matters political, with an especial focus on the courts.
  • Matthew Yglesias: He has been described as the liberal OTB. No relation to Julio and, so far as I know, has never sung a duet with Willie Nelson. He just graduated from Harvard with a degree in philosophy.
  • normblog: A new site by a British political theorist and self-described Marxist and utopian. The blog is interesting and sometimes whimsical, dealing with everything from politics to soccer to country music.
  • politiX is an interesting group blog out of the UK. I don’t read it as often as I should because my blogroll is sorted by update time and they’re usually near the bottom owing to the time difference.
  • Talking Points Memo: Josh Marshall is a professional who writes for numerous magazines but still manages to keep up a fine weblog. Sort of the liberal Andrew Sullivan.

If you’re not reading these guys, you should take a look.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Jimbo says:

    I’m sure Kevin from CalPundit a swell guy. From time to time I have read his articles and I even (infrequently) agree with some of them. If you want a trip into a bizarre-O land look beyond Kevin’s writing and go straight to his comments section. WOW!

    The only thing I can think of is that Indymedia is linking to him at various times. I must admit that it has calmed down in the last month or so from its BushHitler halcyon days.

  2. James Joyner says:

    I’m afraid the comments sections on almost all of the super-popular blogs get rather vitriolic.

  3. John says:

    Well, we still see the “Democrats == statist, communist, Saddam coddling, terrorist lovers” even in the more rational right (from time to time). πŸ™‚ The BushHitler meme seems almost tame by comparison.

  4. Jimbo says:

    Most Democrats do seem to have statist tendencies as evidenced by their desire for larger and more intrusive government.

    Many Democrats still feel Alger Hiss got a raw deal, contrary to recently declassified Vernona information.

    As the charge of “Saddam coddling”, I really don’t know of anything more the Democratic party could have done to aid him any further, other than shipping him weapons.

    Terrorist lovers might be a bit strong, but when they ask dopey questions like “why do they hate us?” after 9-11, it did make them sound a bit weak on the subject.

    But hey, what do I know. I’m just another brown shirt that wants to oppress. πŸ™‚

  5. John says:

    Well that certainly clears up that matter, doesn’t it.

  6. Jimbo says:

    Come to the dark side John! πŸ™‚

    I do agree that vitriolic mud-slinging is rarely productive.

  7. John says:

    Well, considering I voted for Reagan in ’80 and then voted Libertarian in ’84, one could say I’ve been there already. πŸ™‚

  8. Brett says:

    You’re very kind, Jim. And an interesting conservative as well, if I do say so myself. –B

  9. Buck Hicks says:

    I would add Michael Totten to such a list http://michaeltotten.com/

  10. marvin says:

    Democrats and Saddam.

    In the first Gulf War, I waited to see if any Bush/Repub would apologize for arming the nutcase Saddam. I waited in Gulf War II for the same apology. We give him arms and then want to wipe him out — both at taxpayer expense. Where’s the admission Rumsfeld was wrong to shake his hand in the 80’s? It’s the Repubs who consistently backed Saddam. The Democrats always opposed the SOB.

  11. James Joyner says:

    Buck,

    I should give Totten’s site more of a looksee. I’ve seen his name bandied about but haven’t been there much.

  12. Jimbo says:

    Thanks Bret!

    Nice blog by the way.

    and…

    That was VERY funny John! πŸ™‚

  13. ChrisL says:

    but when they ask dopey questions like “why do they hate us?” after 9-11, it did make them sound a bit weak on the subject.

    you’re fooling yourself if you think Bush and his people didn’t ask that same question.

  14. Randy Paul says:

    >As the charge of “Saddam coddling”, I really don’t know of anything more the Democratic party could have done to aid him any further, other than shipping him weapons.

    Perhaps they could have increased his credits with the Commodity Credit Corporation from $500,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 after the gassing of the Kurds in Halabja – oops, that was George H. W. Bush. My source: Samantha PowerΓƒβ€šΓ‚Β΄s A Problem From Hell.

  15. Anonymous says:

    I’m not sure how one can read Brad DeLong and not think that he is condescending.

  16. John says:

    Jimbo: truth is always stranger than fiction.

  17. Brendan says:

    Jimbo,
    I see, so if the Dems are Saddam-coddling because they did divers and sundry (though unnamed) things that fell short of sending arms to Saddam, what does that make Reagan?
    That is, aside from a Savimbi-coddler, Suharto-coddler, Duvalier-coddler, Marcos-coddler, etc. etc. ad nauseum?
    Do tell.

  18. Randy Paul says:

    Brendan,

    There was no bigger Saddam coddler in a high office than Ronald Reagan.

  19. Randy Paul says:

    In a high office in the US, that is.

  20. sym says:

    Piling on, I understand he was arming the Ayatollah as well as coddling Saddam. What can you say? The man loved to coddle…

  21. Realish says:

    Sort of the liberal Andrew Sullivan.

    Sullivan is a ninny; his blog is oppresively smarmy, self-righteous, and monochromatic. Comparing TPM to Sullivan is a disservice to the former.

    That said: I just found your blog via Calpundit and have enjoyed myself poking around. I added it to my daily reading list.

  22. theperegrine says:

    As a Calpundit commenter, I only have this to add:

    πŸ˜›

  23. James Joyner says:

    Realish,

    Thanks!

    I’m mainly comparing TPM to Sully in the sense that both are professional journalists who can thus write full time.

  24. James Joyner says:

    Realish,

    Thanks!

    I’m mainly comparing TPM to Sully in the sense that both are professional journalists who can thus write full time.