RWN's Favorite Conservative Blogs

Just curious about something. John Hawkin's regularly ranks his favorite 40 blogs, as well as including some others. His new list is up - and yes I'm on it. But that's pretty irrelevant to this. I'd like to get blog reader feedback in comments, or through email - link on sidebar - on your impressions of the list, or how you might rank them, if you want to - or whatever feedback you want to share. Lib readers, I know you hate them. So, please, spare me the rants. I'm not interested and won't allow them to fill the comments section.

John's list amounts to a fairly typical general list of the top conservative blogs - blogs other bloggers, including me, link and read. You needn't rank them, that's up to you. What I'm really curious to see is if there is much of a difference between how readers might see conservative blogs, versus how we bloggers see them based upon any feedback I get.

All I can promise is that I'll read every response. I may post on it later but no guarantees. If you share thoughts in email, I won't post the names of people who feedback if it does produce a follow up post. Please don't use this as a chance to vent your spleen at your least favorite conservative blog. I'm looking for general feedback, not that driven by a ban, or strong disagreement with a particular blog. Lastly, feel free to suggest blogs not on the list. Thanks. The list is here.

Comments

[gary gulrud]

I'm an Independent who views themself as more moderate than those around them seem to do.

I've visited about half the sites, maybe more. Lately use Gateway Pundit as 'home', where years back used LGF.

I like keeping with current events from all over the world. Especially socio-economic trends.

Daily 'conservative'(sic) direct visits: Gateway, SayAnything, your blog, Patterico, PowerLine, BlueCrabBoulevard, Insta(link filter).

Frequent: Jawa, Wizbang, Crittenden, Viking, Seablogger.

Occasional: Malkin, Ace, Corner et al.

Via links many more, of course. I like a mix of opinion outside the echo chamber and jump at links to Dalrymple, Vinocur, Paglia, Goodman(Spengler), Krauthammer, etc.

Some 'cons' have lost me, Hawkins with rages, Hewitt thru boredom, Joyner via PC vapidity, Ace's stupidity had me on the verge at points. I do not follow Rush or Coulter but appreciate their work when I trip over it.

[Liz Caldwell]

I'm perplexed by the number at which he chose to stop. Why not 30 or 50 Conservative Blogs? Does the ranking matter after 10?

[Jim Durbin]

I read or have read most of the blogs regularly at one time or another, and they are important in terms of messaging, but the conservative resurgence isn't going to come from national alternatives to the mainstream media, which is what most of these sites do.

We'd be a lot better off focusing on state and local blogs, and writing on state and local issues, where small numbers of people can make a big impact.

[Dan Riehl]

Good comments, thanks.

As for the 40 number, no idea. Maybe he has a twin and they ran out of fingers and toes?? j/k

[lala]

I wonder which bloggers, who do not also write columns or appear on TV, annoy the press and the government the most.

[SacTownMan]

Where is Patterico's?

I check out Drudge, Michelle, Gateway, RWV, Patterico's, Stop the ACLU, Thomas Sowell (Brilliant Man!-"And did you know he's black"?).

Most of the other sites when they are linked but the top 5-6 get a daily look!

Oh, and where is that beacon of conservatism, Meghan McCain!!

[Dan Riehl]

ha No idea about Patterico - maybe they had a spat at some point.

[lala]

I start the day with Glenn Reynolds, followed by FreeRepublic and Lucianne. All of them provide the important stories of the day either by bloggers or newspapers. Additionally, Rachel Lucas and Tim Blair are always good for a laugh or a snicker. I like Althouse's commenters.

[mark l.]

"I like Althouse's commenters."

justoneminute's commenters for me...

sorry to see maguire didn't make the list, hopefully just an oversight...i do see some parameters that might exclude.

[mark l.]

what I like about this blog?

it's like a small bar. everyone knows the bartender. there are a handfull of regulars, and occassional transients. sometimes the patrons, left or right, have too much to drink, start shouting, and move on to an all out fist fight. bartender breaks it up.

you go home, drink some water take some advil, sleep it off, and return the next day.

if it ever gets too crowded, i'm out the door.

the thing that impresses me most?
the modest patronage belies the eclectic nature of the posters, left and right.

[Dan Riehl]

"the modest patronage"

Well, without being critica of any other bloggers, I have given thought to numbers, etc. I'd think at some point, most bloggers with commenters do. Keep in mind I had perhaps hundreds of commenters when I covered the Holloway case. LOL Some are still over on another forum I maintain years later not part of this blog. But it's around the corner, sort of. LOL

My theory is that some blogs with very large comments areas, if not most, are cultish. I don't mean that in a bad way, necessarily, but the coments seem driven in large part of the personality of the blogger. They talk about them, what they might say on something posted elsewhere for example, though maybe the blogger didn't even post on the topic.

Not sure if I'm conveying this correctly, just that much of it is driven by the personality of the blogger.

In that sense, I think I am somewhat distant, focused more on the news (information) posted at top. And that's mostly all that is discussed in a political way. There isn't the discussion of 30 close friends sitting around a campfire - more like a dozen less personally connected observers just discussing the news of the day.

But my blogging has always been driven more by information than personality or making close friends via blogging. If anything, I keep the personal stuff off the blog. Funny how it may be linked to the ultimate size down here, if I'm right. That's just my working theory, anyway.

Riehlworldview, the comment blog for the aloof and anti-social surfer?? LOL

[SacTownMan]

Dan if you want lots of commenters to show up just post something bad about Andrew and they come out of the woodwork!

I enjoy the regulars here but more importantly the "wide open" format allows for the Astroturfing trolls to show their hand on an almost daily basis.

But I do worry for the host, he did admit to voting for Carter if I remember correctly!

[mark l.]

my pet peeve about many of the blogs?
lateral character space. this blog, itself, accomodates widescreen format.

love don surber, hate the format. ditto the corner et al.
(is there some secret about making your reader's scroll, when they don't have to?)

"My theory is that some blogs with very large comments areas, if not most, are cultish."

hmmm...without naming the blog in particular...when your first comment is "first." or the variation "frist." it becomes a 9th grade circle jerk. the size of the comments? it seems that anyone who crosses 100 posts is almost universally the product of fewer than 10 people. If I had a blog, I'd rather have a max of thirty comments, as the product of many people.

page hits are a sign of volume, but not quality.

if anything the volume is almost inversely related to the intelligence of the posters- a theory which might explain the large diversity among the conservative blogs relative to lefty blogs.

realclearpolitics was a great forum until obama won the nomination, then it turned into a nightmare. good to see the nuts have gone home, but some are lingering.

"Riehlworldview, the comment blog for the aloof and anti-social surfer" + "now in widescreen".