Influence, Angst and Charles Johnson...

Most me are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.  - Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Well, well, well...

It seems Charles Johnson has really pissed off the wrong person. If Roger L. Simon (Da Raj) found his batshit crazy nemesis in me, it seems Charles has found his in journalist Robert Stacy McCain. What is even more delightful, at least to yours truly, is that McCain appears to be willing to take this blog war all the way... Which is just the way I like it.

Let's face facts: If there isn't blood on the floor by the end of a blog war, somebody isn't doing their job.

And as far as I'm concerned, it couldn't be happening to a nicer guy. As most of those of you who have paid attention already know, I really didn't have enough regard for Charles Johnson to spend much time cleaning his clock back in 2005. As Da Raj was the mouthpiece for Pajamas Media, Charles didn't, in and of himself, present nearly the target Raj did. In addition, I didn't go after Charles was simply because it was clear to me that Raj was the one calling the shots, and one of those shots was the decision to screw me. Had I thought Charles the instigator of my Pajamas Media double-cross, things would have been different.

Now it seems Charles Johnson has gone a bit loopy. He's cut ties with just about all his old friends, embraced several old enemies and fallen into the habit of conducting massive purges at Little Green Footballs. It's to the point that several of his old friends are worried about his mental health, thinking that perhaps Charles is on the verge of blowing his brains out. Of course, it is entirely possible that Charles has lost his mind, and it is entirely possible that he might try to blow his brains out tomorrow, but I say don't worry...

Charles would have to be an incredibly good shot to be in any real danger.

What is more likely the cause of Charles Johnson's trip to la-la land is the combination of good, old-fashioned middle-aged male angst and a profound misunderstanding of how the political blogosphere actually works.

When I met Charles, back in 2004, he was fiftyish and driving a somewhat battered Hyundai. According to Raj, he'd been cleaned out in recent divorce and didn't have much more than that Hyundai, his computer and his bike. That's got to be a tough thing to take at fifty. It is probably fair to say that Little Green Footballs and the blogosphere were about the only things Charles had going for him. Which is, quite frankly, somewhat sad.

Sad, and dangerous.

Dangerous because it gave Charles Johnson, middle-aged mediocrity, the out he needed when it came to dealing with the fact that he was just another average guy. It's something that the vast majority of us have to deal with at some point in our lives. We spend our first forty or so years believing that we are indeed special, that we can indeed do anything we want to (if only we work hard for it). It's what's been drilled into us since birth. And then, one day, we wake up and realize that we aren't special. We cannot do whatever we put minds to. We discover we are mediocre. We are average.

What's important to note about this, at least as it applies to Charles Johnson, is that the notoriety gained from the Rather Affair, combined with popularity of Little Green Footballs has allowed Charles the opportunity to avoid, up until about a year ago, the day he had to reckon with his own mediocrity. He could look past his personal and professional setbacks and gaze upon the glory that was blogospheric prominence. If nothing else, he could now claim to being an influencer... Someone of importance... A leader.

And herein lies the seeds of Charles Johnson's self-destruction: He is not a leader. He's an average guy.

I'd be the last person to claim I know Charles Johnson well. I spent parts of two days around the man back in 2004. But, brief as it was, my contact with him allowed me to size him up in certain respects. What those two days told me, more than anything, was that Charles Johnson was not a leader of men. His bearing did not catch the eye or command respect.  Had he been more than average, he might have been able to leverage his Rathergate and LGF success. But as it turned out, cable TV gave him some time and found him wanting. Pajamas Media provided another opportunity, which, if my sources are to be believed, he wasted by playing the disenchanted loner (rather than being a leader).

More important than anything Charles did or did not do, though, was the fact that between 2004 and 2007 we collectively came to understand both the power and the limitations of the political blogosphere. In the heady days of 2003-2004, it was assumed that site traffic conferred, in and of itself, real power to the blogger. That has now been disproved. What we've learned is that it is what the blogger does that confers power. Charles Johnson gained famed not because of his inherent worth as an individual, but because - for one moment in time (Rathergate) - he managed to produce a set of facts that had a material impact on political events. Once Charles stopped producing those sort of facts, his fame (and influence) receeded.

That Charles Johnson doesn't understand this is what makes he present circumstance so sad. He's stuck in a 2004 mindset. He looks at his site traffic and cannot understand why people like Pam Geller and Robert Spencer do not defer to him (and his opinions). After all, he has the traffic they don't. I suspect the root cause of Johnson's resentment towards his old pals is based on his firm belief that he should be leading them. Or, more accurately, that they should have understood that he was Charles Johnson and quietly stepped in behind him.

His former friends seem to be equating Charles' continuing 2004 mindset with madness. I think that's a stretch at best and a mistake at the worst. I would suggest he's a confused middle-aged man who is watching his last shot at being something slip away. And, as he is confused as to the what and why, his response is to lash out at those he feels have betrayed him by refusing to toe the Charles Johnson line.

Comments

[PeterUK]

Not to worry,the End of Life Counselling is just round the corner.

[Mike C.]

"Charles would have to be an incredibly good shot to be in any real danger."

Ahahahahaha ! Okay, THAT is definitely my 'laugh of the day' !

And I'd be willing to bet he doesn't exactly engage in marksmanship sports on a regular basis.

[Guesst]

...another 'reformed' liberal, as if there is any such thing.

[PeterUK]

That of course,is the nub. The internal contradictions of being a war supporting liberal just became too much for Johnson. You have long hair,you play the guitar,ride a bike,live in Babylon and you support the war?

[Simon]

Good stuff Dennis, in the last week I have been drawn like a bee to a honeypot to LGF and 'The Other McCain'.

McCain has a real willingness to play dirty - linking video of Johnson (so McCain's readers know what he looks like) and acting as a link clearinghouse for anti LGF material is great.

LGF is also full of good stuff. Johnson is banning at the drop of a hat. Reminds me of the 'you're cut too shushy' Simpsons episode end.

Apart from his power mad, intolerant ways, another reason to dislike Johnson - I had always assumed he was a jazz muso (bad enough in itself), but in fact it looks like the guy is an admirer of jazz but a player of muzak (http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/34719_Again_with_the_Grossly_Inflated_Numbers_Part_Deux). Al Jarreau - give me a break.

[Rollory]

For those who care, other discussion threads on this:
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/09/21/ongoing-self-destruction-of-lgfs-charles-johnson/
http://minx.cc/?post=292578

[Simon]

Here's the right link Rollory -

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/09/21/ongoing-self-destruction-of-lgfs-charles-johnson/

This may have been in response to LGF dedicating 'Your Racist Friend' to Hot Air. The only TMBG's song that I know of whose lyrics didn't consist entirely of meaningless gibberish.

[RW Rogers]

Watching this blog war from afar, I can't help but hope they all lose. Everyone you named in your post (and a few others) certainly deserve to. As it says in the bible, "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

[wayne fontes]

Robert Stacey McCain is uniquely suited to blog warring(and link whoring). No Blogesphere Geneva Convention like set of rules are recognized by him. At the end of the day he wants two things.....traffic and to be on the "right" side. Charles Johnson gives him both in spades.

[Dennis The Peasant]

Have you noticed that CJ in putting "Infolink" advertising links in his posts... Including a post today calling RSM a racist? Is that pathetic or what?

I also noticed that CJ gave a big rag to Glenn Reynolds today. I wonder if Da Raj is ever going to get involved in this, now that CJ is attacking just about every blogger who is presently involved in Pajamas Media. That would be too, too delicious...

[Simon]

LGF has a banner ad for Glenn Beck's latest book on his blog at this very moment, on the same page as posts denouncing Beck as the hillbilly, godbag anti-christ.

[Eric Blair]

The disconnect between post content and those ads makes for much entertainment.

[Guesst]

Speaking of post content:

I followed so many links from McCain and others, I eventually lost track of what blog I was reading, except for Atlas Shrugs. I knew it was hers, because Pamela's boobage is plastered prominently all over her front page, she's got that link thingy where she's selling an "intimate evening with Pamela" (with side-boob shot).

Talk about an advertising disconnect.....!

[Simon]

I love the masthead on Atlas Shrugs. The statue of Pamela (?) throwing (?) the globe looks like something Hugh Hefner would have put on top of the Chrysler Building if he had built it.

[Rollory]

Simon, I have really no idea why you reposted the EXACT same URL that I put in my post.

Seriously, copy/paste them both into Notepad and look.

[Simon]

I thought it was one link instead of two. My mistake.

Thanks for your comment, appreciate it a lot.