Thank Goodness Eric Boehlert Was On Our Side

Liberal media giant Eric Boehlert was killed in a tragic bicycling accident in his New Jersey hometown.

by Bob Cesca

WASHINGTON, DC – It was 2007 or so when Eric Boehlert emailed me about being interviewed for his forthcoming book. I was still running my animation studio at the time, blogging in my spare time, and generally distracted by the worsening economic news as the Great Recession began to hurt my business. So, when Eric called, I was scatter-brained, nervous, and uneasy – even though Eric himself couldn’t have been sweeter to me.

I ended up bungling the interview. At least that’s my self-evaluation of my performance. I decided to call Eric back to ask him if we could revise some of my answers, and he was happy to oblige. He didn’t have to. He could’ve easily used my choppy, incoherent quotes in the book, but instead he allowed me to try again with sharper answers. 

The book, by the way, was called Bloggers on the Bus, which still sits in my bookcase today. At the time, I was relatively unknown outside of the Huffington Post, but Eric was the first standard bearer from Blogosphere 1.0 to legitimize me as a worthy participant in the movement. By including my words in his book, he sent a signal to other bloggers that I existed and had something worthy to add.

That’s the thing about Eric. He’s an unflinching juggernaut when it comes to pushing back against political and news media injustices, but to those of us who knew him personally, he was a warm, gregarious man who was always generous with his well-deserved clout. I might not be doing what I’m doing today if he hadn’t been more understanding, and especially if he had chosen not to take my political work seriously. But he did, and I’m immensely grateful for it.

But back to the juggernaut thing. 

I so greatly admired Eric as a commentator. His writing was always on target – utterly salient. We never had to worry that Eric would zigzag wildly off the rails like so many others have. His worldview and the way he expressed it was laser focused and rock solid. In fact, I suspect there are reporters and cable news hosts who’ve been targets of Eric’s relentless watchdogging, but who, at the same time, respected his criticism. He had the chops and experience to earn that respect.

But the main thing I admired most about Eric was his consistency. There’s a wonderful quote about consistency by author Victoria Erickson in Edge of Wonder: “Consistency is an underappreciated form of intentional magic disguised as a mundane doing.” We could always rely on Eric because of this magic. His presence gifted us with the continuity of knowing he’d be there in the trenches, saying what needed to be said and writing what needed to be written. Always. We never had to worry about whether he was tired or emotionally drained from shoving his face into the white-hot plasma stream of political news every day.

This kind of consistency is rare. Eric’s been active for as long as I can remember, and would’ve continued to be, had fate not interfered. I can’t remember a time when he took a breather or complained about how hard it was to stare into social media’s burning Chernobyl reactor every day. He was indefatigable. Unstoppable. Unbreakable.

I mean, who knows. He might’ve suffered emotionally behind the scenes, but we never saw it. We never watched him pull a Jon Stewart – frazzled, raking his hair, and openly wishing the torment would stop.

I wish I were as strong. But I’ve always looked to Eric for inspiration – as a role model. We all would do well to adopt a little of his steadfastness and courageousness. I hope more of us do, we on the left could always use a little more adamantium in our spines.

Eric’s death is a devastating loss for his family, his children, his wife, and for those of us who were lucky enough to know him personally. But worse, America will feel the loss, too. Our news media, especially. Without his voice – his consistent voice – our Fourth Estate will be that much worse off for it. Who will take up the mantle? Who will hold the increasingly misguided TV news media to account for reinforcing disinformation, while continuing to report not on what’s true but on what will get the biggest ratings? Who will call out the lies and gaslighting, day after day, without blinking or slowing down?

Today, our grief and sense of loss is well placed. Eric was a genuinely good man at a time when the space between right and wrong has become badly distorted and blurred. 

Thank you, Eric, for everything you’ve contributed to your nation. Thank you for your ceaseless patriotism. Thank you for your consistency. And thank you for the inspiration to carry on the fight, especially when it’s hard. You are sorely missed.

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'Truth Social' And The Sad Decline Of A Trump True Believer

Donald Trump's latest con is falling apart, as are his followers.

(Ben Gray / Associated Press)

by Ben Cohen

I have an online friend (we’ll call him Rob) who began flirting with conspiracy theories some time around 2015. Rob is a former policeman who used to be a reasonably open minded conservative willing to engage with people he disagreed with. He believed in legalizing marijuana, gay rights, holding corporations to account, and funding social programs for those less well off. He hosted a local radio show, ran for Sheriff and became a minor celebrity in his city. We had interacted a little over the years, primarily about our shared interest Martial Arts, and I always thought he seemed like a decent person with little time for bullshit.

When Donald Trump emerged on the scene however, Rob’s posts became darker, more cynical, and more apocalyptic. Liberals were no longer people he disagreed with; they were Godless, evil, and actively trying to destroy America. Trump was the only viable solution, because other Republicans were too close to Democrats. America needed a wrecking ball, and the billionaire egomaniac was the best way to tear the system down. Rob posted long Youtube rants, lengthy essays and constant memes setting out his horrific worldview. This was war, and you were either with him or against him. Black Lives Matter was a Marxist terrorist group. The Obamas were racist bigots. Hillary Clinton was evil incarnate, and Trump would destroy them all.

Q-Anon (Trump’s base)

As the Trump phenomenon continued to explode, my friend’s Facebook page became even darker….

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