I know there's a strong argument to be made that sites like No Quarter should be ignored. Just visiting them for grins supports their hit count. But their destructive hate-mongering is increasingly disturbing.

Personally, I worry some about innocent/naive lurkers who might not get exposed to refutations of all the lies. Moreover, in my dabbling at No Quarter (whether arguing, parody trolling, truth-telling) I have perceived a softening from some (some) of the regulars when directly challenged. Left to their own devices, they seem to have way too much fun imagining themselves saving the world from the Marxist/fascist/wimpish/brutal Obama -- "by any means necessary," as they like to say.

The dangerous rhetoric at No Quarter is not limited to the comment threads. It can be seen on full display in the work of regular featured writers. One recent offering connects Barack to Hitler thusly: Obama gets backing from George Soros who was raised appreciating Hitler's cult of personality, which is why he's latched onto Obama -- because he sees Obama as the same kind of personality as Hitler (and that's why the Soros puppet Obama must be stopped by any means necessary).

You get the idea. There's much more to these cesspools than waiting for "whitey" tapes, hero-worshiping Larry Sinclair, and investigating Barack's birth certificate (which, BTW, is a certain TexasDarlin's current labor of love).

The strange-bedfellow aspect of these sites is pretty fascinating. So-called progressives (who haven't gotten over the "crimes" against Hillary) embrace a marriage of convenience with outright government haters and racists. As long as they all agree to hate Obama, the most disagreement they voice among themselves comes in the form of fond chuckles ("you make me laugh, silly"). Hard-core feminists hold hands with homophobic Muslim haters.

I find this all not only scary, but a prediction-come-true on my part. Months ago I wrote diaries and comments (in various places) about how, if Barack won, we'd see a new coalition of absolutists, from across the traditional spectrum, who would feel shut out of Barack's promise of a new political culture that attempts to move us beyond the culture wars. What I hadn't anticipated was the fierce degree to which their very identities would feel threatened. I predicted such an alliance, but not the violent tendencies that are fueling it. (I mention this not to toot my horn -- just to, once again, bring up the broader cultural dynamics that are some of my longstanding interests.)

While I certainly haven't spent weeks and weeks at these sites (my IP was banned recently from NQ), I have gradually come to believe it's a worthwhile way to spend some energy -- especially if one is feeling the need to burn off some extra feistiness . They clearly have some influence. Fox and friends regularly feature these PUMA types. No Quarter and Larry Johnson were recently featured in Financial Times and American Prospect (linked prominently at Real Clear Politics)

And I do think without the occasional voice of sanity (and, sometimes, ridicule), they will feel more free to carve out an increasingly Captain Kurtz-like outpost -- providing justification to the craziest of the crazies out there.

I know many of you vehemently disagree, but that's my opinion.

[Note -- a version of this diary was crossposted at DailyKos]