I’ve Been Banned At DailyKos Because Of John Edwards
By Lee Stranahan on August 3, 2008 at 3:50 PM in 1st Amendment, Censorship, Daily Kos, Huffington Post, John Edwards
Catch me at 7 p.m. PT today on the radio show, Sunday Inquisition, talking about the Edwards scandal and the media. Visit my blog, Stranahan.com. (SusanUnPC’s note: Here is Lee’s listing at IMDb.)
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Cool picture from florian.b who also features this quote…
“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” — Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
NOTE: I’ll be appearing as a guest tonight on Erin Kotecki Vest’s Sunday Inquisition show talking about the Edwards scandal and the media at 7pm Pacific time. Erin also wrote this piece about me getting banned.
About a week ago, I posted a piece on the Huffington Post called Say It Ain’t So, John. I didn’t think it would have much more impact than my usual posts…maybe a dozen comments or so, a couple of people linking to it. I cross posted on DailyKos, which is probably the best known and biggest progressive blog. I’ve been posting at Kos for a long time. As more news about Edwards has come out, I followed up with more posts which were also the subject of a large number of comments. All of them looked at the Edwards situation from my point of view; that is, a liberal who is concerned about the implications this story may have in November.
Now I’m banned. I can’t write about ANYTHING at Kos. Can’t comment, can’t post a non-Edwards piece. Nothing.
And I stand by my title - it’s largely John Edward’s fault that I’m banned. I’m now personally a small piece of fallout from the scandal. That’s because Edward’s defense is shoot the messenger, not answer the questions. The rabid response of the people on Kos is directly related to Edwards and his own response. That’s exactly why I’m saying this has the potential to hurt the Democratic brand.
So answer the effin’ questions already, John. For everyone’s sake.
I’m not sure if the DailyKos is going to take down my writing and make me a complete un-person there. Of course, real progressives are against censorship so Maryscott O’Connor’s blog MyLeftWing is my new community home. (Maryscott was the lead actress in my film Breathing Room about 13 years ago, by the way.)
Here are the pieces I wrote on Kos that caused the problems…if you look, I’m not writing about anything that isn’t being written about already.
Welcome to Obamaland.
Subversives watch out.
This is so great…
http://tinyurl.com/2tx2q2
DID you guys see the front page of yahoo?
Obama says give Fla. and Mich. delegates full vote
WHAT AN ASS!!!!
Yes, it’s pretty widely known.
Wexler needs to come out against it, again, though. Otherwise, he looks like a much bigger fool than he appeared during the RBC meeting at the end of May
Write to Wexler. He is losing his seat and we intend to see it happen if he doesn’t change his tune. Who’s crying now?
Go to Riverdaughter and try and post anything that does not suggest Obama is anything but evil. Sorry if you are on a pro Democrat blog do not try and destroy Democrats.
Sieg Heil, you moron.
If you take away free speech, like Kos has been doing for months, you aren’t a “Democratic” blog, you’re a joke.
Kos is a self-aggrandizing loser, and you are, apparently, one of the losers who follow and worship the head loser just like he tells you to do.
Have some dignity.
Grow up and get a brain BOB. Obama is not a saint. He intends to fook you good after he bamboozles you a little more. I pity you. You are being USED>
Excuse me, Blackman, but a pro “Democrat” blog? I’ve never seen any comments under that name on noquarter so I’m not really sure where you are from or what you’re trying to say. Did you come here to support Stranahan or bury him? DailyKos? Go somewhere else. This is a free and democratic site and unless you threaten or go over the edge, you won’t be banned here, but I am also allowed to politely ask you to leave. If you like those blogs which ban opposing views, you can also choose Huffpo. But, before you go, you should take a look at Stranahan because you could be next the next to be banned at kos Just one little slip of the tongue expressing a touch or reality or reason and you will be gone.
Or Kos land. Kos is a really twisted one. He uses dictatorship and totalitarianism to promote freedom of speech and democracy.
They don’t take dissent very well at the Big Cheeto?
But…but… they are ‘progressives’!!
The only way to protect freedom of speech is to silence the critics to your own point of view.
obamaland is full of hypocrits. they don’t ban things like anti-semetic, mysogynist, racist, black theology talk, but they’ll ban people who criticize their leaders. what a load of facist b.s.
Let’s not forget that the majority of posts are of the simpleton category.
Edwards needs to comment. Period. The longer he stays silent and dodges the media, the more apparent his guilt becomes.
Either way, this takes him out of the VP running, and potentially out of the running for cabinet positions should Obama win.
Honesty is the best policy. If it’s not true, so say and the story will go away. If it’s true, face the music, ride out the media cycle, and go home. Avoiding it only makes it worse.
I frankly do not care nor am I interested in Edwards’ personal life.
As for getting banned from DKos: why is anyone surprised at this point? DKos is the mouth that feeds BO’s shameful propaganda to the public. I find interesting actually that you were allowed to write there until now…Sorry.
DKos and Huffingsomepoop are not PROGRESSIVE sites. They are run by republicans. They are using the tactics that governed their developmental years. Deny disagreement. Ban dissent. They don’t realize that the care and feeding of true Democrats requires the skill necessary to herd cats. They just think they can lower the hammer and people will fall into place. Karl Rove would be so proud.
Huffing some poop….OK, I usually don’t go for immature snark, but that was High Quality Immature Snark!
I bow to your snark skills!
We cane leaners can pull one out of our endangered grey matter every once in a while …
Larry Johnson helped in his career by Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and also a registered Republican.
PUMAPAC Darragh Johnson - someone who gave to McBush in 2000, was not involved in politics since and suddenly encourages Democrats to suppoer McBush?
PUMA supporters can not question the party loyalties of real Democrats.
And NOW___long time dems will be voting repub for the very first time if Barry is allowed to steal the nomination. EAT IT UP!
I have to say that I am surprised that people think the Edwards story is such a big deal since he is no longer in the campaign. It’s sad if it’s true, but not my business. I dont’ see it having much of an impact on the election.
That being said, getting banned for writing about this especially since it is in the media now (the Charlotte Observer carried a big article just the other day) is beyond bizarre. I do not hear anyone talking about this, btw, and I live in NC.
I think Edwards needs to do what Bill Clinton should have done in the Lewinsky case: Tell the media to mind their own f-ing business - this is a matter between him and his family.
My sentiments exactly!!!
Not if he wants to keep the public’s trust.
If he had an affair, he should beg forgiveness from his wife.
And he should apologize to the people whose trust he betrayed, which includes the American electorate.
Edwards held himself out as a monogamous trustworthy devoted husband.
Edwards apology should be swift and heartfelt.
Clinton should have done the same.
Denying and lying only compounds the offense.
While I would desire them to behave honorably to begin with, if they don’t, then they should own up to it.
If he’s having an affair while his wife is suffering from cancer he has LOST the public’s trust. Just confess and disappear, please. We don’t need another liar in the Dem Party.
Think Newt Gingrich….who took it one step further. He left his wife while she was in the hospital.
McFiddlies did worse than either of them. Where are the critics of him here?
In your demented head. He was married for a year, was separated and tortured for 5 years, and came home to a woman he couldn’t even recognize and couldn’t physically care for.
Nobody would have blamed her if she had divorced him.
He has financially supported her even paying her medical bills after just one year of marriage - ever since.
He adopted and cared for her sons as well as their own daughter.
She knows that she got lucky.
She supports him for President.
You should too.
It goes to his judgment.
A hot-snot, rich lawyer who can’t manage to knock off a little Strange without paying $100K for it AND making another cracker in the process shows:
An inflated sense of the cash value of a belly-bump;
A lack of mastery of the techniques of Conception Control;
A poor ability too judge people, their abilities and motivations;
A willingness to crap upon his marriage contract.
All of it reinforces the opinion I originally had of Edwards, to wit: If he wasn’t rich, he’d be lucky to get elected County Commissioner in Speedbump, NC.
Oh Christ. Everyone knows about Edwards and how he came out to endorse Obama DURING Hillary 40 point win in WV…what a pig. We all know he’s a whore. So Obama told Edwards he would tell on him and his mistress if he didn’t endorse Obama right now and so Edwards did. Funny though, Obama told on him anyway! WHY?? Because Obama has a love child out of wedlock and it’s been going around the elite circles since Obama gave the awful speech about AA’s abandoning their kids….
If you want to speak about Edwards go right ahead.
And sign the PUMA Pledge and never turn back. Escape the CULT and join the PUMAS. Save yourself. SAVE the constitution.
Andy, if you feel Edward’s behavior in unimportant, that is your prerogative. I feel pretty much the same about the private lives of public people. However, the same people now trying to cover for him were unfair to Hillary is as much as they ridiculed her for her husband’s infidelity. I don’t remember Edwards or anyone now supporting her opponent speaking out on her behalf. It is a question of hypocrisy in the media and those posting on kos. If they persist in protecting Edwards, shouldn’t they be asked to apologize to Hillary?
frankly, i wonder why you are still posting there. anyone with a mind of their own has been gone for months. it is best thing that could happen to you. that place is a cesspool.
Heh- so the stupid Edwards thugs are still there too, as well as the Obamabots. Truth hurts to those kids, they can’t handle it. Edwards is a cheater and Obama is a liar and Kos allows bullies, thugs and misogynists to thrive. No sane reasonable truth seeking blogger would still be there IMHO.
I stopped looking in over at DKos and HuffPo a longtime ago. Their attitude could be big reason why their traffic has dropped.
There are DK diaries complaining about Obama’s bad pics in McCain ads.
ha!
More hypocrisy from Obamabots! One of their pics mocking Hillary had laser beams coming out of her eyes and ears.
ROSETEER, thanks! You’ve said all that has to be said in a couple of sentences. Amen.
Pumas, start roaring….
and maybe Obambi can revise his anorexic resume and apply for the rapper’s job with Ludicras, or better still the ‘Family Values’ comedy routine with Bernie Mac!
Hope abooard Mary We’ve been waiting for you. Go get your friends.
the Kos site is quickly turning int Cubas Granma or Russias Pravda, Censoring left wing commies
There are Communists that I know that I, personaly like, their being full of shit politically is irrelevant. DK is just nasty.
It was only 11 years ago, Lee. Please do not make me older than I already am.
: P
Mary Scott- this is not a supportive site for Obama- just warning you ahead of time.
PUMAs and NOBAMA!
>>>>The rabid response of the people on Kos is directly related to Edwards and his own response
Edwards responded??
I’m with you on learning the Truth about this issue.
Yes, Lee, real progressives are against censorship. I’m assuming that you stood up for all the Hillary supporters who were banned from the DKos blog and Huffington Post during the primaries? Or are you one of those progressives only interested in free speech when it is your own?
The kids at kos got behind Edwards right at the beginning of the primary and pulled the same thuggery, misogynist Hillary hatred to the few of us who chose Hillary as number one at the very start. Then when Edwards dropped out ( his affair was starting to be exposed- just look at Elizabeth’s face when John gave his quit speech in New Orleans) and then thos bullies all jumped on Obama’s band wagon cause the mantra was “Anyone but Hillary”
Well kosbots made two wrong choices and one by one some come here and admit Obama’s a really bad candidate.
Country before Foolish Party Loyalty. the DNC and O’s campaign have committed lots of voter fraud in the caucuses-acting just like the republicans for Bush.
Two wrongs don’t make it right.
PUMAs!
You’ll note I didn’t ask anyone to write to Kos or take any action on my behalf. People have to come to their own conclusions and they do that at different times.
I knew a little about Maryscott’s conflicts with DKos but I still was at Kos, for example. No contradiction. If people want to diary at Kos, I don’t have a problem with it.
Its a hard addiction to get over. Lots of us left with Alegre’s strike because of the hate and misogyny. It was brutal. I peek in there now and then and it is nothing like it use to be. But it started many of us political bloggers to blog and really get involved with important issues. So the format I am grateful for, but Kos is a a Karl Rove wannabe and has an inflated ego and not worth the support.
Lee:
Thank you for posting your story.
At Free Republic, we refer to John Edwards as the “Breck Girl”. I am not an Elizabeth Edwards fan, but I admire the courage and dignity for which she has battled her terminal cancer. It is with much disdain that I regard John Edwards today.
John Edwards affair should ensure that his national aspirations are finished. If the Kos Kids don’t like it, too bad for them.
As some at NQ have stated, they’ve been banned or harassed at DailyKos and Huffington Post.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t just happen at Left leaning blogs and forums. I personally watched the purging of Rudy Guiliani supporters at Free Republic. It was nasty and ugly. People that had been long time friends were pitted against one another and we were supposed to all be Republicans.
At FR today, the site isn’t the same without some of the old posters. They brought life and humor to many threads that didn’t involve politics. The site lost out big time and those that had a stake in running to the Mods to have them banned are forever on my shitlist—Republican or not.
Looking back at that situation and reading your story, it reminds me once again that the site and posters only follow the lead of the owners. If the owners are anti-something, then by God everyone had better be or you’re shown the door.
It is this type of situation that creates longer lasting effects than any campaign cycle.
In other words, kudos to No Quarter.
Absolutely!
What unites us all who are true Americans is the First Amendment– and the rest of the Constitution, of course!
What I find interesting are the DK front page Obama polls, so stoopid that it’s obvious management uses polls to make sure the majority are still in line with the site’s propaganda.
I do admire Elizabeth Edwards - If she ever runs for president I’ll vote for her. Maybe her husband is an SOB, but neither she, nor her children need to be drag into the mud.
‘dragged’ that is
As for your posts going MIA…I hear Markoss $ driven. I doubt the will disappear as DK is $ hit driven.
So, now that you have a taste of Bambiland, are you still advocating voting for him??
Just curious as I noticed the Buy Obama stickers on your site.
In any case, thanks for posting although not really surprising.
Banned from Daily Kos? Seems they did you a favor.
Agree. DailyKo and MoveOn are becoming known as jokes and for their vileness.
Don’t be associated with them.
I agree LOL.
roseeriter, as I live and breathe.
roseeriter, as I live and breathe.
I am voting for Obama. I wish the best for Obama. I certainly am not an Obama HATER.
But I am not a rah-rah Obama Don’t Speak A Word Against Obama person. Nor is MLW a site for such.
Things have changed since 2004, my friend… oh, have they changed.
Please re-examine your choice to vote for Obama. Have you not seen the flip flopping and lies? He is one bad man. He literally can’t stop himself from lying as his ever-growing ego prevents any honesty.
This is what he means by “change.”
Obama can change his position on a dime, depending on which group of potential voters he is courting.
A spine can be a pretty inconvenient thing.
i agree. nobama!
What scares me the most about O is that he appears to have absolutely no compunction whatsoever about lying. I mean, when he talked about the Senate Banking Committee being “his” committee - and he’s neither head of that committee or even ON that committee - he just looked into the camera and made the statement without blinking an eye. He can be surrounded by people who know the truth and can still blatantly lie right in front of them.
I have never seen anyone who can lie without a “tell” of some kind; a twitch, a foot tap, a glance to the side, rapid eye blinking, etc. Obama can. It just blows me away. I guess he really has *no* conscience.
You’re a rare Obama supporter with a brain. Big Tent Democrat, too, is not afraid to criticize Obama when it is warranted.
My sole problem is with the “authoritarian leftists” who deem any criticism verboten and ban or slam the critic.
They’re like the far-left anti-war protestors during the Vietnam era who walked around with Mao’s little Red Book and mimed his lines and shunned anyone who didn’t think exactly like they did.
As someone said above, the REAL progressives are those who welcome dissent and criticism.
At Daily Kos, the trick is to write what they want to hear. That’s not a foundation for intelligent discourse.
As I think my posts make clear, I’m an Obama supporter, too. In fact, I’d argue the Kos response is very anti-Obama.
Eric Hoffer’s book ‘The True Believer’ is required reading - the oddness of crowds and mass movements cuts across all ideological lines.
Free debriefing HERE. FREE. Let us help you. You have been brainwashed. Claim your thoughts back. Claim your voice back. Exit the cult before they KILL America. This is the place of truth, justice and the REAL American way. NOT snark.
Talk to a PUMA today. Help save the constitution!
Obama let’s all his surrogates get away with the fascist stuff, the race baiting, the quashing of dissent, the smearing of his opponents.
Wake Up. Obama is bad news.
Take this little episode as a sign of things to come under an O administration.
What you just experienced is a fraction of what the Hillary supporters endured this Primary. I hate Obama for a variety of reasons, but his supporters are enough for me to vote against him.
Just a question, Lee, if you don’t mind? What was the basis for your support for BO in the beginning and has it changed?
I didn’t make up my mind until the second debate and, until that time, I could have supported Hillary or Obama as nominee.
I’m sure you must have had some reason beyond an anti war speech. Are you aware of the lack of documentation. It wasn’t recorded, photographed and no original video exists. He and Axelrod recreated it in a studio.
How do you feel about FISA, public financing, hand gun bans, protection of right to choose
based on the mental health of the mother, off shore drilling, faith based initiatives and Mr. Obama moving the DNC to Chicago with respect to how you felt six months ago?
You said kos allowed anti-Obama blogging and comments, but gently chiding accompanied by acceptance of his latest misstatement or reversal is not the same thing as allowing a real challenge to his veracity.
The reaction to Hillary’s supporters during the course of the primaries were often profane, thinly veiled threats and would probably still be so if there were any left at that site. Beginning several months ago, my comments were blocked at Huffop, but I voluntarily stopped trying to comment at kos.
You can try to wrap yourself in a cloak of reason and logic, but if you would still support the censorship of opposing views, what justification will you make? Open and free debate was the basis of the first democracy and, in fact, defines the word.
And here I thought I was the last American outside academia who had read Hoffer.
His comments on Cleaver (”Soul On Crap”) were to the point.
Too bad he’s taking a dirt nap. He’d have had two or three books in him for the period 1988-2006.
Heh - BTD is a hypocrit of the worst kind.
He can criticize Obama as he sees fit, but if anyone even hints at criticism of BTD they get permanently banned from his posts, and Jeralyn supports him in that. It’s the most childish, bully tactic one can use.
That site has lost some really fine minds who once shared really valuable and interesting information, not to mention contributed fantastic humorous slants to their opinions.
There’s nothing left there that can be considered smart, insightful posts, and there are only a small, small handful of intelligent commenters. I expect they will get 0-4 total comments per post once the election is over.
Susan,
Reminds me of one of many fab Beatles songs:
Revolution: But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao…
Everybody Sing!
Hi MaryScott- long time no see:-) I remember when you got banned ages ago, which should have been a forewarning to many of us women over there.
I respect your vote please respect ours, which will be Hillary if we have a nice surprise at the convention, many go for McCain. I cannot support Obama and don’t think I can vote republican. When one has strong principles it’s hard to break them sometimes. Wish Obama hadn’t been such an empty suit flip flopping no character man.
Anyways, hope you and that adorable son of yours are well.
Peace.
So, you’re voting for Bush Redux?
Stupid, addiction issues, daddy issues, flip-flopper, corporate weasel, crook, self-proclaimed athlete, snobby, hubris-laden, brooks no dissent…..
Think about it.
This one is a hair better looking, but they’re the same asshole under the skin.
I think most people underestimate how damaged Obama is from being abandoned by both of his parents. Just give this line of thinking some of your own thought, most of the well balanced people I’ve know came from a good family that loved each other, without divorce or early death of a parent. Obama has had a very confusing life and it made him a “People Pleaser”, unable to make tough decisions, that’s why he skips votes, or votes PRESENT or claim he hit the wrong button. Obama did a interview with Fareed Zakaria a couple weeks ago and asked Obama what he remembered most about living in Indonesia, Obama said “It was when my Mother told me She married a man from Indonesia and we were moving there”. I rest my case.
I think you make some good points about his psychological make-up. I also think that is why he can’t hold a principled position on anything (aka, flip-flopping). No real friends, just people who can help him with his career or with giving him “black ‘cred”. The only constant and (seemingly) stable person in his entire life is his Grandmother.
So tell me in a Country that claims to be religious, but creates more one parent families than any other what is wrong with the upbringing of Obama? And remember you are trying to pretend you are not Republicans.
The republican meme is tiring but if you say it long enough maybe you’ll start to believe it.
Yawn!!!!!!
Stop the hate!
Someone in PUMA needs to sit you down and have a good long talk with you. Then decide. Make an appointment to visit a PUMA. Then decided. No strings attached. You may have been bamboozled and not have any support.
Mary-you have come to the right place to get debriefed from the cult.
Hi MSO…and as you know this is not an Obama-hate site, either. Many of us just do not think he is qualified for POTUS. Disagreeing with Obama is not about “hate”.
Not so much has change from 04. Bush “won” pretty much the same way Obama is “winning” - “by hook and by crook” as they used to say. I’ve given up on honesty in elected officials and would settle for a semi-honest one if we can’t have an experienced competent one like Senator Clinton.
They ban you if you talk about sensational subject that hurt their candidate.
Its just another reason to vote against Obama-his team engages in political censorship.
Not for nothing, but maybe if you had given equal treatment to Obama’s gay blowjob and Hillary’s lesbian lover, you might have gotten over. In just about election cycle there is a “love child affair” scandal. In 2004 McCain had a “black love child”. In 2004, John Kerry had an affair with an intern. Only, these stories went on for a while and turned out not to be true.
Bill and Hillary Clinton was destroyed with endless rumors that turned out not to be true. Just like the Edwards story, there is a little connection there that can be exploited into a bigger story to create doubt about democrats. And guess what, you’re falling for it.
The only thing you should believe is John Edwards and Reille Hunter when they come out and say that this story is true. Other than that, this is just a lot of smoke clouding up the democratic party. Much like, Bill & Hillary many, many investigations that led nowhere, yet cost millions of dollars. And you’re perpetuating it for no good reason.
Keep in mind that the perpetuation of this story hurts Elizabeth Edwards, who from what I can see has done nothing to you.
I don’t agree - the 3 stories are fundamentally different, I believe. The Edwards story will turn out to be a ‘rumor’ like Clinton / Lewinsky was a rumor.
I’ll dicuss the reasons I think that on the show tonight.
Oh, so you actually have pictures then?
No, of course not. Do you have pictures of Scott Peterson killing Lacey?
There’s plenty of evidence, though - some direct, some circumstantial.
The National Enquirer does…of a white faced Edwards leaving the bedroom of that ex-cokehead at three in the morning, running away from their reporters into a men’s room, engaging in a tug of war to keep the door of said restroom closed, and calling a rent-a-cop to get him out of there.
Please. How stupid can anyone be? You think they were playing checkers up there? He was jumping the old trampoline, doing what he had to do to keep her placated and not screaming for her “due.”
He went middle-aged crazy, thought he was
“safe” due to her age, but he guessed wrong.
A rubber would have solved his problem. For one moment of pleasure, a lifetime of pain!
He KNOWS that’s his kid–that’s why he’s placating her, he wants to keep this quiet. He probably promised her he’d marry her after his wife croaked, but ONLY if she kept quiet.
He’s probably pissed it’s a girl. He made his poor wife get shot up with hormones (and get cancer from them) in order to get him a “replacement” kid, who doesn’t look like he’s going to be captain of the football team, which probably disappoints him mightily.
If you relly are a Clinton fan you should really Leave this story to the National Enqirer’s of the world and not bring it here.