do the right thing.

UPDATE: i'm happy to report that edwards did go with the spike lee motif, as i requested. he's not firing amanda nor shakes. while i do wish he would have been a little harsher on the petty, mudslinging nature of their critics (what, a girl can dream!), he did note in his written statement that "We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked." I love such small glimmers of sanity in the realm of politics, fleeting and brief as they may be...

i hardly have the ability to form coherent words about the uproar over john edwards' hiring Amanda and Shakes for blogging/netroots positions on his campaign. there are unconfirmed reports that he's fired them over the right-wing caterwauling about - among other petty, insignificant things - their stances and writing on the duke rape case, their stances and writing on the catholic church, and...god help us all...their vulgarity.

i was watching tucker carlson interview bill donohue of the catholic league while i was at the gym earlier tonight, and i was literally sputtering i was so angry.

pam from pandagon says it much better than i can at this point, what with all this foaming at the mouth and hurling invective that i'm doing:

Whatever opinions Melissa and Amanda hold on a variety of political issues, they are completely their own. The fact is that they have used profanity in their posts, and wrote rants that many disagree with, but their forums are about personal expression and opinion, not journalism or op-eds for a major paper. They were selected by the Edwards campaign to put on a different hat, a professional hat — as if no one else out there does the same thing each and every day if they have a personal blog and work in a venue that is dependent on writing copy or business correspondence. They know the difference, but that’s clearly not the issue at work here. It’s about getting someone in the kill zone, and trying to knock off John Edwards in the process.

and zuzu, at feministe:

...the very idea that the Edwards campaign would even consider hanging these two bloggers out to dry to appease people who won’t even be voting in the primary, much less for him, turns my stomach.

Because we have enough so-called leaders who bow to the demands of the very loud, very unhinged right wing noise machine. John Edwards, if you are at all serious about getting the votes of liberals, of women, of people who care passionately about the issues you talk about, then you can not cave to the likes of Bill Donohue.

Because there will be no end to the demands for capitulation. They won’t rest on their laurels after having taken out two relatively small fry. No, their demands will only increase, and there is no appeasing them.

And in the end, they’re not going to vote for you anyway. And the people who agree with them aren’t going to vote for you anyway.

The people you’ll lose, if you cave, are the people who hunger for someone who will stand the hell up to these kinds of loudmouthed, anti-Constitutional hacks who stand for nothing but their own selves.

I’m looking for a candidate who won’t throw allies under the bus to appease opponents.

Are you that candidate, John Edwards?

to contact the edwards campaign, click here.