- RedState
RedState is an American political weblog aimed at Republicans and conservatives. Originally founded in 2004 as a
527 group by conservative bloggersJoshua Trevino ,Ben Domenech , andMike Krempasky , the site is currently a subsidiary ofEagle Publishing , Inc. Erick Erickson is the Chairman of the Board and Managing Editor, and Ben Domenech, Clayton Wagar, Dan McLaughlin, Victoria Gardner Coates, and Mike Krempasky are on the Board of Directors.Similar in format to
Daily Kos , a progressive/liberal weblog which is powered by Scoop, RedState is not a standard blog, but an interactive site which was formerly powered by the collaborative media applicationDrupal . It moved to aDjango -powered platform after discovering an overwhelmingly liberal Drupal developer base. Contributors to the site may post directly to the front page, or to a blog with shorter entries known as "RedHot," modeled after "The Corner" blog atNational Review . Users may also post comments related to entries as well as diaries (now known as "User blogs") that can be recommended by fellow readers and promoted to the front page by contributors. RedState is an example of acollaborative blog .RedState has also created numerous offshoot blogs on specific political topics, including a site opposed to
Senate Judiciary Committee ranking memberArlen Specter and a site supporting the judicial nominees of PresidentGeorge W. Bush .In March 2006, co-founder Domenech was hired as a blogger by the Washington Post Online, but quickly came under criticism for his prior writings, some of which were plagiarized. At the end of his first week, Domenech resigned, eventually admitting to plagiarism. [Jim Brady, [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redamerica/2006/03/ben_domenech_resigns.html Ben Domenech Resigns] "Washington Post", March 24, 2006] He took a leave of absence from RedState at the time, from which he returned in July 2006 under a new handle (his own name), and is still listed as a Senior Editor for RedState.
On November 16, 2006, former congressman
Tom DeLay posted a diary, and he has followed up multiple times. [Tom DeLay, [http://redstate.com/stories/the_parties/republicans/whats_that_thumping What's That Thumping?] "RedState.com"] Several other members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate are regular diarists at RedState.On December 20, 2006, RedState announced its sale to Eagle Publishing, Inc. [The Directors, [http://www.redstate.com/stories/special_events/redstate_eagle_publish_growing_the_conservative_movement_online RedState & Eagle Publishing: Growing The Conservative Movement Online] "RedState.com"] , effective January 2, 2006. Erick Erickson remained Editor-in-Chief.
On
July 12 ,2008 , RedState launched a new version of its site, introducing new features such as the ability to organize contributor and user diaries by state; action centers allowing users to take action related to emerging political issues; links to share posts via other networking sites such asFacebook ,Digg , andMySpace ; and easier searching between related content on the Internet.More information
The site's editorial board contains Republicans who run the gamut from socially conservative to small government conservatives who are socially liberal. Some of the site's moderators regularly ban from the site (permanently) those users who break posting rules through personal attacks, the use of profanity, and spamming diaries and comment threads. [ [http://www.redstate.com/stories/featured_stories/the_method_behind_his_madness#comment-324546 comment example] "RedState.com"] [AJStrata, [http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/756 Banned From Redstate] "The Strata-Sphere", October 9, 2005] [ [http://www.redstate.com/stories/liberals/the_vileness_of_the_left#comment-309637 comment example] "RedState.com"]
Anyone with Internet access can register on the site and publish such content. A few of RedState's diarists have been criticized for their posts. Examples offered by critics include postings that referred to homosexuality as a "mental disorder," and entries stereotyping Muslims as "inherently violent." In response, the diary on homosexuality was closed to comment by the Directors for being out of line with the site's purpose and editorial views. [vbPhil, [http://www.redstate.com/story/2006/6/27/10711/8436 Homosexuality - A Congenital Defect.] "RedState.com"] [juliew2-3, [http://www.redstate.com/story/2005/2/17/205352/731 Political Correctness about islam] "RedState.com"]
Despite its sale to Eagle Publishing, Inc., a conservative publishing house, RedState is still a
grassroots organization. Eagle Publishing, Inc. and RedState, as part of the sale, agreed to let RedState maintain its editorial constructs as a collaborative grassroots site.During the primaries (Oct 22, 2007) a decision was made to ban any new member that was less than 6 months old from posting about Republican Presidential candidate
Ron Paul , due to a significant number of Paul supporters' continuous spamming of diaries and comments, and unwillingness to follow site rules and policies. [Kate Phillips, [http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/a-ban-on-ron-paul-supporters/ A Ban on Ron Paul Supporters] "The New York Times", October 24, 2007]References
External links
* [http://www.redstate.com RedState]
* [http://www.confirmthem.com/ Confirm Them]
* [http://www.eaglepub.com/ Eagle Publishing, Inc.]
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