The Best Days Of My Life
by Chris Bowers, Fri Jun 15, 2007 at 08:59:26 AM EDT
After spending all week trying to think of a poignant way of making this announcement, and drawing nothing but blanks, I have decided to just say it as plainly as I can. Today, after more than three years, I am stepping down as the lead writer and managing editor of MyDD. In a little more than three weeks, I will be starting a new website with Matt and one other partner, Mike Lux of the Huffington Post. Expect to hear more on that in the coming days.
This is not a decision I made lightly, or without real emotional anguish. It is not an exaggeration to say that MyDD has been my life for these past three years. For almost every single one of the past 1,141 days, I threw virtually everything in my being into making this blog work. As Matt filmed me saying in November, and as I wrote back in December, my existence has merged with the blog. When MyDD is doing well, I feel like I am doing well. When MyDD isnt doing well, I feel like I have failed. I blog, therefore I am.
I started blogging on MyDD at a time in my life when little else was going well. My academic career was in the toilet, and the thought of further teaching was literally giving me nightmares. Financially, I was so badly off, that I thought I was going to have to move out of my apartment. I had gone on exactly one date in the previous fourteen months. Considering the situation I was in, when Jerome gave me this chance, I latched onto the site and worked on building it up as though my life depended on it. In some ways, maybe it did. In the movie Blog Wars, there is a segment where I am giving a speech and crediting Jerome for saving me. It sounds corny, and I cringed when I saw the movie, but it isnt far from the truth. I will forever be grateful to Jerome, and we are still on the best of terms.
So, why am I moving on? I hinted at the reason in yesterdays post, Expanding Beyond Just Partisanship. As much as I have enjoyed writing about politics and elections from a partisan Democratic viewpoint, my political background is in the social justice movement and decidedly on the left. I want to write about more than just elections and political infrastructure, and I want to explicitly work toward building a progressive governing majority. However, to do so would be to take MyDD too far away from its longstanding purpose. I have always argued that successful blogging is focused blogging, and MyDD wont succeed if it loses its niche and its brand. Also, I want to do much more extended writing on single campaigns, ala Googlebomb the Elections, Use It Or Lose It, or The Inflated Clinton Poll Theory, and join in discussions with a wider variety of individuals and organizations in the progressive movement. Structurally speaking, that means moving somewhat away from the rapid, chronologically backward scrolling format of traditional blogs.
However, even though I am moving on, I will always hold Jerome, Jonathan, MyDD and the community in the utmost esteem for the rest of my life. Also, I imagine I will return to post and comment here from time to time, and that I will also continue to post occasionally until the new website launches in mid-July. There is no way I could ever entirely leave something that has meant this much to me. Also, even though I am retiring from MyDD, I will continue to work as hard as I can both within and for the progressive blogosphere community. I have every confidence that we will continue to succeed in our fight to build a progressive America as long as we continue to stay engaged in the fight, and as long as we continue to work together.
In the extended entry, I have compiled my favorite articles and campaigns over the past three years. Ah, memories! Seeing them all listed in one place reminds me just how amazing this time has been. To quote Gonzo the Great, I can sum it all up in one word: indescribable.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for making these past three years the best of life. Now, onward and upward!
Update: Thanks everyone for your comments. I almost feel like crying. You guys mean a ton to me.
This is not a decision I made lightly, or without real emotional anguish. It is not an exaggeration to say that MyDD has been my life for these past three years. For almost every single one of the past 1,141 days, I threw virtually everything in my being into making this blog work. As Matt filmed me saying in November, and as I wrote back in December, my existence has merged with the blog. When MyDD is doing well, I feel like I am doing well. When MyDD isnt doing well, I feel like I have failed. I blog, therefore I am.
I started blogging on MyDD at a time in my life when little else was going well. My academic career was in the toilet, and the thought of further teaching was literally giving me nightmares. Financially, I was so badly off, that I thought I was going to have to move out of my apartment. I had gone on exactly one date in the previous fourteen months. Considering the situation I was in, when Jerome gave me this chance, I latched onto the site and worked on building it up as though my life depended on it. In some ways, maybe it did. In the movie Blog Wars, there is a segment where I am giving a speech and crediting Jerome for saving me. It sounds corny, and I cringed when I saw the movie, but it isnt far from the truth. I will forever be grateful to Jerome, and we are still on the best of terms.
So, why am I moving on? I hinted at the reason in yesterdays post, Expanding Beyond Just Partisanship. As much as I have enjoyed writing about politics and elections from a partisan Democratic viewpoint, my political background is in the social justice movement and decidedly on the left. I want to write about more than just elections and political infrastructure, and I want to explicitly work toward building a progressive governing majority. However, to do so would be to take MyDD too far away from its longstanding purpose. I have always argued that successful blogging is focused blogging, and MyDD wont succeed if it loses its niche and its brand. Also, I want to do much more extended writing on single campaigns, ala Googlebomb the Elections, Use It Or Lose It, or The Inflated Clinton Poll Theory, and join in discussions with a wider variety of individuals and organizations in the progressive movement. Structurally speaking, that means moving somewhat away from the rapid, chronologically backward scrolling format of traditional blogs.
However, even though I am moving on, I will always hold Jerome, Jonathan, MyDD and the community in the utmost esteem for the rest of my life. Also, I imagine I will return to post and comment here from time to time, and that I will also continue to post occasionally until the new website launches in mid-July. There is no way I could ever entirely leave something that has meant this much to me. Also, even though I am retiring from MyDD, I will continue to work as hard as I can both within and for the progressive blogosphere community. I have every confidence that we will continue to succeed in our fight to build a progressive America as long as we continue to stay engaged in the fight, and as long as we continue to work together.
In the extended entry, I have compiled my favorite articles and campaigns over the past three years. Ah, memories! Seeing them all listed in one place reminds me just how amazing this time has been. To quote Gonzo the Great, I can sum it all up in one word: indescribable.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for making these past three years the best of life. Now, onward and upward!
Update: Thanks everyone for your comments. I almost feel like crying. You guys mean a ton to me.
2004
- Theory of the Blogosphere As Avant-Garde, 5/11
- You Don't Know Shit About Iraq, 5/28
- Bush and GOP repeatedly used WMD Justification to Invade Iraq in 2000, 8/12 (originally)
- Incumbent Rule Research Update, 9/3
- Top Down Right-Wing Blogosphere Growing Powerful, 9/13
- Gallup's Shame, 9/17
- Rapid Poll Movement Is A General Election Myth, 9/18
- Bush, Kerry Battle Over New Demographic Groups, 9/26
- Sunday on the Campaign Trail with Ginny, 11/1
- Post-Election Strategy Memo, Part One, 11/3
- Please, No More Gimmick Strategies, 11/4
- Uncontested, 11/5
- Real Conservative Values, 11/7
- Evolving Partisan Strength, Part Four and Conclusion, 11/22
- Eureka! Or How To Break the Republican Majority Coalition, 12/6
- Proof of the Ideological Coalition Shift, 12/21
- Tim Roemer Should Not Become DNC Chair, 12/22
- Democrats Must Abandon the War on Terror, 12/30
- Partisan Left-Wing Blogs Growing Far More Influential Than "Independent" Right-Wing Blogs, 1/20
- Attention All Democratic Congressional Chiefs of Staff, 1/21
- Anti-Labor, Pro-liberal, 1/23
- Clueless Bloggers, 1/27
- The F-word, 2/10
- Yeah, You Heard Me Right, 2/14
- More On the Vanishing Middle, 2/15
- Social Security Compromise Watch, 2/22
- Diversity and the Two Lefty Blogospheres, 3/27
- The Rise Of The Non-Christian Coalition, 4/12
- Maybe It Is a Battle Of Civilizations, 4/15
- Congressional Loyalty Scorecards, Part Five: Progressive Caucus, 4/28
- Democratic Myths, 5/4
- ACTION ALERT: Cable Theft, 6/9
- Aristocratic Right Wing Blogosphere Stagnating, 6/12
- Unreformed Democrats, Part One, 6/13
- Why No Progressives Are Running In 2008, 6/17
- Second Live8 Thread, 7/2, and More Live8, 7/4
- I Need a Laptop, 7/5
- Conservative Blog Sprawl Is A Serious Threat To Progressive Blogosphere Dominance, 7/7
- Conversion Versus Activation, 7/9
- Chris Bowers For Committeeperson, Ward 27, Division 23, 7/22
- Hackett Campaign Already a Success, 7/29
- The Emergence of the Progressive Blogosphere, 8/10
- Polling Firms Asking the Wrong Questions On Iraq, 8/12
- About the Vietnam / Age / Generation Thing..., 8/25
- The Hacks and The Wonks, 8/25
- AP-Ipsos Asks Bush's Question On Iraq, 8/26
- The Southern Undercurrent of the Republican "Revolution", 8/28
- Dailykos Is As Large As The Entire Conservative Blogosphere, 9/9
- John Roberts hearings coverage, 9/12-9/15
- I'm Not Going To Blogroll You, 9/22
- Democrats Party Like It's 2002, 10/4
- End Game on Bush's Approval: Realignment, 11/11
- Current Public Opinion Myths, Part Three, 11/17
- Chris Bowers Is A Committeeperson in Philadelphia, Ward 27, Division 23, 11/29
- Progressive Blogosphere Not Breaking Through To Mainstream Media, 12/12
- Guess Alito's Freeper Name, 1/10
- Brownback's Humility, 1/10
- Why The Blogosphere and the Netroots Do Not Like Hillary Clinton, 1/14
- In Need of Further Edjamacation, 1/31
- MyDD Polling Project Compendium, 2/2
- Our Message In 2006: Republicans Control Congress, 2/7 (originally)
- The Activist Class War Continues, 2/14
- The Reality-Based Community and The Pennsylvania Senate Race, 2/17
- I Am Very Worried About 2006, 3/22
- Building a Real House Majority, Part Three: The Northeast Strategy, 4/13
- El Pueblo Callado Jamas Sera Escuchado, 4/14
- Opening Up Talks in the Activist Class War, 4/17
- My First Ward Committee Endorsement Meeting, 4/27
- United Flight 93, 4/28
- Teenagers and Adults: The Emerging Anti-Netroots Narrative, 5/2
- Online Integrity, and Other Things I Will Not Be Signing, 5/4
- Chris Bowers For Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, 5/11
- On the Road With Ned Lamont, 5/12
- Meet Ned Lamont's Staff, 5/15
- Blue Nation, 5/15
- We Will All Win, Eventually, 5/17
- Where is the establishment defense of Chafee and Akaka?, 6/4
- BlogPac Netroots Survey, Part One, 6/15; BlogPac Netroots Survey, Part Two, 6/15; Hillary Clinton and the Netroots Survey, 6/12
- On Party Democracy, 6/16
- I Manage The Liberal Blog Advertising Network, and Liberal Blog Advertising Network Membership Criteria, both 6/22
- The Importance of Movement Candidates, 6/23
- Stop Telling Me What To Write, 6/28
- PA-08: I'm A Fat Cat, 7/9
- Fox News Reports on Sub-Par Dailykos Flame War, 7/13
- Star Trek As Progressive Mythology, 7/18
- Meta-MyDD, 7/21 (originally)
- Why People Don't Think Democrats Believe What They Say, 7/25
- Republicans Cede 2-3% of National House Vote To Democrats, 7/27
- Republican Mirror Netroots Organizations Struggling, 8/1
- Viral Marketing Versus a Mega-Conglomerate, 8/7
- All In, 8/8
- MyDD Hacked!, 8/8
- The Many Benefits of Ned Lamont's Victory, 8/9
- For America, Democracy Is Always More Important Than Security, 8/31
- Diversity In The Blogosphere, 9/19
- The Netroots and The Progressive Movement Are The Difference, 10/2
- Progressive Majority Rising, 10/10
- Republicans Are Not Losing Because of "Mistakes", 10/11
- Canvassing For Dan Maffei, 10/16
- More On The Netroots Difference, 10/17
- The Success of Ned Lamont's Senate Campaign, 10/23
- Fighting Together, Losing Separately, 11/2
- We Are All In This Together, 11/4
- Try Something New, 11/5
- Be Inspired. Seek Transformation, 11/12
- How To Become A Full-Time Blogger, 11/12
- Rahm Won Everything, 11/13
- The Alliance of the Ignored: Power Perceived Versus Power Achieved, 11/20
- On House Ideological Caucuses: Part One Of a Series, 11/20
- Eight Rules for Progressive Realpolitik, 11/28
- The Two Obamas and Me, Part One, 12/4
- Being and Blogging, 12/11
- The End of the 1960's?, 12/14
- How Bloggers Are Held Accountable, 12/18
- CA-50 post election polling part one, and CA-50 post election polling part two
- Democratic Congressional Challengers Strategy Memo, which led to Adwatch
- Use It Or Lose It
- Googlebomb The Elections
- 2006 Senate Forecast
- 2006 House Forecast
- Serious / Macho, 1/8
- On Movement Building: Institutions Versus the Cult of Personality, 1/8
- Report On The Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, 1/15
- When Blogospheres Collide, 1/16
- Netroots Demographics and Diversity, 1/16
- The One-Way Flow Of Progressive Movement Money, 1/25
- How To Win An Argument With Another Progressive, 1/29
- Calling Bullshit On The Blogosphere's National Trial Heat Narrative, 1/30
- On Increased Entry Costs In The Progressive Blogosphere, 2/6
- Why The Edwards Situation Means So Much To Me, 2/7
- Why Movements Move Me, 2/12
- Second Report From The Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, 2/14
- Terrorism Remains A Key Political Tool Of the Right, 2/14
- On Persecuted Super-Majorities, 2/20
- The Post Wherein I Reveal Lingering High School Angst, 3/12
- Signs Of Democratic Party Aristocracy, 3/16
- On Preaching To The Choir, 3/21
- Trying To Tie This All Together..., 4/11
- Do Bloggers Follow Journalistic Standards?, 4/12
- Progressive Movement Causes Record Engagement In 2008 Campaign, 4/26
- Blogosphere Avant-Gardism, 4/29
- Diversity and the Blogosphere: Practical Difficulties, 5/7
- Culture, Ideology, The Two Coalitions, and the 2008 Democratic Nomination, 5/14
- Philadelphia elections coverage, March-May
- Inflated Clinton Poll Theory: The First Field Test, 5/18
- Wrap-Up Of Our National Democratic Poll Seminar, 5/19
- Why Some Democrats Are More Scared Of Bush Than Their Base, 5/24
- A Room Of One's Own, 6/4
- On Being "Fair" To Democratic 2008 Candidates In the Blogosphere, 6/11
- Expanding Beyond Just Partisanship, 6/14
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