Bait and Switch

Lefty bloggers are responsible for the elevation of hard-line reactionary Roy Blunt to the position of House Majority Leader. Who knew they were so powerful?

It's funny but it's not: Liberals whispered gleefully all morning yesterday about Dreier's squishiness -- and some outright screamed about it. What part of the Democratic agenda this was supposed to advance is unclear, as the group that stood to benefit the most rumors [sic] about Dreier were social conservatives. Who's to say if the background noise from the blogosphere helped the wingnut's [sic] successful campaign to bump Dreier -- a moderate on abortion, stem cells, and same-sex marriage -- for Missouri's Roy Blunt, to whom the Christian Coalition has given a 92 percent approval rating and who is a protege of noted gay rights advocate John Ashcroft. It certainly couldn't have hurt. Gaybaiting is an ugly way to win; it's an even uglier way to lose.

Of course, when you're screaming about it for a joke, it's just good, clean e-commerce.

Update: More on the relative wingnuttiness of Blunt and Dreier here. It's a far bigger tragedy than anyone could have imagined.