V: List Cross Over--Come Write for Policythought

When not blathering on about how Kinko's should meet the same fate as old yeller, and rambling on about how man-cards are won and lost, I blog on politics and policy over at policythought.blogspot.com (see widget), of course I don't work alone. Marc V (of the list) and Mike Ruby are also policy-thinkers of great renown.

But we can't do it alone. Policy Thought is looking for more bloggers to join our team. And so I decide to pen a list of the top five reasons YOU should start blogging on policy thought. Once this list entices you to join the team, drop a comment or shoot an email to policythought@gmail.com

#5. Because You're Smart.

We love a good debate over at thinkPOP, and we need smart people to spur new ones. We strive to avoid the kind of numbskull yelling you find on the comment boards at Politico or Washington Post. We want point and counter, thought and counter thought, you get the idea. Whether is a debate topic or an observation about our culture, we want diverse, interesting conversation.

#4. Because you HATE politics

You care about the environment and taxes and energy, and the economy. Not if Hillary wore a pink pantsuit on national breast cancer day. You don't care about the horse race or the latest polls. You care about the country and world, you read or watch something and you want to talk about it, and get others to do the same...that's why you write for Policy Thought.

#3. You have a Specific Interest

Marc V. is a teacher so our debates on education are robust. Mike R. is an ad-man so our discussions on media are always engaging. I work in lighting, so I talk energy efficiency. None of us are limited to our area of expertise, but it drives how we work. Maybe you're a teacher, or a cab driver, or a nurse, or lawyer, or a college student. Whomever you are we want to hear you talk about how national policy effects YOU.

#2. You're a Karl Rove Loving Neocon/You're a Ralph Nader loving Greeny

We like minority points of view. Not because we always agree, but because our debates are too often on the one hand and on the other style, we don't offer enough variety of opinion and thats no good. Got a Rush Limbaugh Bumper sticker, we want to hear from you. Think Nader should be included at the debates, lets talk.

#1. We may actually make money!

Our readership is growing steadily month to month and the addition of more voices only adds to the potential pool of readers and "viral" spread. Once we reach a critical mass of readers, and ad revenue starts coming in, the wealth will be distributed to all Policy Thinkers. I don't recommend blogging as a path to riches, but if those riches come, we'll share the wealth!

A whole new blogger

Something we've been missing here at policythought is diversity of opinion. Hence forth I introduce our own George Will. Nicholas Troiano joins the policythought team with a rightward slant we desperately need to balance our debates. Welcome him, rib him, and get involved.

#400

Hello All!

This is a special post. This is the 400th post here on Policythought! We are still in the infancy of this blog and what we believe it can offer our readers. We strive to deliver potent policy debate, political insight, humor and varied points of view. That being the case I wanted to take a brief pause for our 400th post and ask our readers to suggest what we can do to improve the blog. the comment section awaits, and if you have something more personal to say...well you can always email us policythought@gmail.com

We get blasted

Policythought reader and facebook member Alex Lotoro took us to task today about our coverage of issues...in response to a thread I posted concerning our coverage of 3rd party candidates and party outsiders such as Ralph Nader and Ron Paul here's what came back...

The biggest reason why you should cover third party candidates, particularly Ralph, is because blogs are independent news sources that don't suppress truths when it hurts them...like Ralph's thoughts on the public airwaves and how they should be leased, not sold.

You don't have to cover what gets you ratings, you can cover what your readers need to here. That's what the press is for! Otherwise, it's impossible for the full-time student, the 60+ hour a week employee, the working parent, to make an educated decision in November.

Your blog is too similar to what I can see on CNN and Fox News, same story different commentary. I'd rather spend my time reading AfterDowningStreet, Counterpunch, Democraticunderground, or CommonDreams...so I learn something new.

I thought I'd take the opportunity to rebut and see if other readers had a take on this...

I admit our coverage of third party candidates is limited. Particularly of Nader, this comes from a few things. First of all he isn't a legitimate candidate for President. Each of his attempts have gotten less credible and I think most readers want to read about candidates that are likely contenders for the White House.

That doesn't excuse our lack of coverage for his policy ideas. However, I tend to believe that the cream rises to the top when it comes to ideas and politicians. Nader enjoyed a more prominent role in the 90's as a consumer advocate and occasional presidential candidate, over time his capacity for new policy and new ideas hasn't kept pace with his longevity. In truth Ron Paul is seeing a more sustained following despite his incredibly small chance of winning the White House. His libertarian platform and opposition to the war in Iraq has gained him a solid following. He also has the added bonus of actually having a job in government, that means people have voted for him and continue to keep him in congress. Ralph Nader has a political movement and people who believe in him, but as we've learned throughout this primary season, translate that into votes.

We don't have to cover what gets us ratings...just want our readers need to hear. Determining what our readers "need" to hear is a difficult task and one I know at least I struggle with everyday. We have posted powerful pieces in opposition of the war, media coverage of the race, and global climate change. Recently, when candidates called for a gas tax holiday, I posted on a piece on the need for gasoline prices to go up not down. A point that even today, I buttressed.

The reader posted the names of several liberal blogs they would read before ours. I take no issue with a person's taste, we cannot please all readers all the time. However, the blogs named are part of the same echo-chamber effect that we have railed against. They serve to harden reader's views in a hyper partisan way. At policythought we try to call it like we see it, not how Keith Olbermann or Sean Hannity would like us too.

I hope more readers step up and serve us some smack down...we need it around here. It gets our dander up and gets us posting on issues our readers want covered. Keep em comin!