That's what Coalition member Alexander McClure of PoliPundit says...he just may be right...
James Taranto was the only charter member not to accept (or even respond), but if you're not reading the Best of the Web daily, you should be...
Speaking of the Wall Street Journal (and we were), here's an interesting story on the numbers behind blogs. It suggests (accurately, I'm sure) that the number of blogs and their readership are both overblown. My own guess is that there are probably about 50 or so truly influential blogs (and this ain't one of them), if influential means bigtime news- and decision-makers read them regularly.
What is difficult to capture, and probably impossible to track (and here's where blogs like mine - and yours - come in), is the 'meme' influence of smaller blogs. Ideas can spread much like viruses and implant themselves in the public consciousness through repetition. As such, even small blogs can wield enormous influence - collectively.
I won't pretend that I had a great agenda behind the Coalition of the Chillin' - it was a goof that happened to (luckily for me, and I hope for you, as well) tap into some low-level frustration. It occurs to me, though, that it accidentally serves a pretty important purpose. To put it as simply as I can - nobody digs the Daily Kos but the Kossacks. If that's the model we emulate, right or left, then blogs will lose their influence quickly. Shrill histrionics and apocalyptic rhetoric, blogger triumphalism, all of these things appeal only to the faithful. Let us stand for our principles, yes, but we don't have to shout all the time, that's all. If we become completely indignant about every issue, how will we differentiate the TRULY terrible from the mildly annoying?...
Oh, and a big welcome to the newest coalition member, Citizen Grim...and check out a couple more Coalition blogs, while you're at it (Ryan James, who has done an excellent job for us, has the blogroll)...
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