Blog Fight!

It's Joe Monahan vs. ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE!

First Joe posted THIS early Monday morning -- "alligator" tips that former Richardson campaign higher-up Amanda Cooper had been granted immunity in the CDR investigation. He also said Chris Romer, a Colorado banker connected with the GRIP bond deals reportedly had been granted immunity by the feds.

(Disclaimer: I sure don't know whether either is true. I saw Cooper last week in Albuquerque and asked her why she'd stopped returning my phone calls. She said there are some things she can't talk about. )

Monahan's post got some blistering commentary in Blogdom.

Majorie Childress in m-pyre said:

"...if he is correct, what's the context? Does that mean they've admitted to wrongdoing? Or would they simply not agree to talk to the grand jury about what they may or may not know without immunity?

We don't know, because Monahan doesn't give us any context or anything on the record. He simply passes on the leak as it was handed to him. Someone gave him some info, possibly with an agenda, and he obliged them by getting it out there.

It's those hidden agendas that one has to keep in mind when it comes to Monahan's blogging about real people who've built real careers.

Heath Haussamen got in on the fun:

What Monahan writes, especially as it relates to alleged criminal activity, has a real effect on people’s lives. He should take that fact more seriously.

Until he does that, it’s impossible to take what he reports seriously.

Monahan early Tuesday struck back.

Geez, that sounds awfully self-righteous, doesn't it? Well, Heath, when you stop taking anonymous donations on your Web site to support your "journalism" and also reveal what individuals contribute to the nonprofits that finance the online newspaper you draw a paycheck from, we'll be able to take you seriously.

He also said something about Heath rewriting press releases, which really was unfair. Like everyone else, he does rewrite some press releases. But Heath puts more journalistic effort into his blog than anyone I know.

Then to the NM liberal blogosphere in general, Monahan wrote:

... the self-appointed kiddie corp that police "journalism" in the so-called NM "progressive" blogosphere--FBIHOP (a pancake house blog?), Marjorie Someone, John "I want to be a blogger" Fleck of the ABQ Journal, the aforementioned Heath Haussamen, Den Mother Barbara Wold at Democracy for NM and the gang at the New Mexico "We're not really a progressive front group for Eli Lee" Independent--is going to spit out their Cap 'N Crunch when they read that one.

... to our critics we say in the spirit of friendly competition: Read it and weep--and enjoy your cereal!

To quote the old Santa Fe band 27 Devils Joking, "Spread the Love Vibration!"