Le Roi c'est Mort; Vive le Roi

Sad news today from Bill Hobbs as he announces a severe scaling back of his blogging. He's going to pretty much stop all his political blogging, at least for the foreseeable future.

I hate to hear this, because Bill was party responsible for getting me blogging and was certainly very helpful to Half-Bakered through the years in terms of taking my writing seriously and linking here. It's almost like hearing that your favorite teacher is retiring.

It's bad news for the Tennessee blogosphere in that the two tent poles of state political blogging are now out of the daily tussle. First South Knox Bubba packed it in earlier this year, only to return in a very scaled back and reduced form. Now Bill. What are we to do?

It's good news, though, for the second tier, in the same way that the death of Napster was good news for LimeWire, WinMX, etc. People who routinely checked in at Bill Hobbs' site now need somewhere else to go. It's an opportunity for someone to step up. I haven't seen anyone yet fill South Knox Bubba's shoes, though, so who knows with Bill's?

We may never get that "one stop shopping" conservative Republican Tennessee website. I'd hate to see that, as there's a great need for someone to follow all the CRT sites, the left-Tennessee sites and the major state media to pick up and spread the important stories. It's a vital niche that needs filling.

We have a vibrant conservative / Republican blogosphere in Tennessee, a mostly bottom-up phenomenon, too, rather than a "run from the top" affair. It's a sign of health and strength. It helps the voters by getting out information without having to depend on the professionals and power-trippers of the Party, whose interests only sometimes intersect with the desires of the base.

I understand Bill's fatigue. Been there, done that. It's hard work; the benefits are mostly in personal satisfaction, not tangible gains. As Herokleitos said, "What do they have for intellect, for common sense, who believe the myths of the public singers and flock with the crowd as if public opinion were a teacher, forgetting that the many are bad, the few are good?" Fighting that tide is tiring work.

Maybe one day you will take up your sword again in the unceasing Good Fight. In the meantime, rest up, Bill. No guilt; no regrets. You've earned it.