My Response to Alex Bargman's Inaccurate Post on The Forum About The Claremont Conservative, Claremont Independent, and Me

Just a short side note before we begin on the author of the post and what was probably behind it.

I've asked both Josh Siegel '10 and Ross Boomer CMC '09 to syndicate some of my content here on The Forum and they have rejected it every time. I've even asked to do it for free, as I already do with the school-sponsored CMC Nation, which is the blog of the admissions department. Yep, that's right. I've written for the school's admissions department, but the school's student body newspaper, The Forum, has decided not to let me write for them. And, in the past, they have gone so far as to censor my perfectly legitimate comments. Still I have to wonder if I were so "infamous" as I have been called by Bargmann if I would be getting emails from alums every week thanking me and giving me stories. Now I know for a fact that the policy of The Forum is to approve the content of each post before they are posted so I thought I would point all this out and be direct about it.

Still, Alex Bargmann CMC '11 has a run down of some of the more influential blogs and felt he had to include a mention of mine. I'm grateful, really. He wrote the most about my blog, after all!

So here's the mention. And let me fact check it afterwards.

Charles Johnson’s (’11) The Claremont Conservative is the most infamous of student-run blogs at CMC. Charles was recently appointed editor of the Claremont Independent (his appointment has prompted some students to quit writing for the publication, a source tells us) and has decided to merge his personal blog with the printed publication. The effect of this merger is uncertain– the blog has largely remained as Charles’ personal soapbox for partisan politics and angry attacks on students, faculty, and alumni. Just as Ann Coulter makes a living with invective, Charles has learned the best way to gain attention (aka blog hits) is by making outrageous claims and using sarcastic, cynical rhetoric. Even if you subscribe to his mantra, you might find this blog irritating – like an itch underneath your arm cast that you keep trying to get to, but then when you finally get a scratch on it, the itch just gets worse. Of course, Johnson has some fans…Now on to what this article was really about, unearthing some unknown blogs that deserve your attention:

Here's my response, with the links.

Thanks for the mention, guys. It was a little late in coming. After all, I’ve only been a finalist for two 10,000 cash awards, had my work featured on some of the big conservative blogs, been invited on to conservative talk radio, and on and on. I’m not hear to blow my own horn, but I thought I would address some factual inaccuracies with your post.

I don’t think I can quite take the credit for being like Ann Coulter (whose books I have actually read and find kind of dry). I see my work more in line with some serious conservative/libertarian columnists.

First and foremost, the blog doesn’t feature some “angry attacks on students, faculty, and alumni.” Rather, it advocates for a conservative, libertarian position on campus. I only write about people who have decided to make themselves public figures on campus by their actions. The average Joe isn’t going to get a blog post unless he does something.

There was only one student who quit the Claremont Independent and that was before I was named editor. He actually quit just as I was named editor because he was upset that we didn’t accommodate him. His work was quite shoddy so we were considering firing him, anyways. We’ve actually gained over ten new writers since I became associate editor last spring. We’ve gained three new writers just this semester since I’ve become editor. (And what do you know, we don’t even pay our writers, unlike the school-supported Forum.)

As for that one disgruntled member, we like his replacement a lot better, but you can be the judge of that when the issue comes out. It’ll be our longest in some time and unlike the Forum, we’ll actually be breaking some real news.

On the merger, it was approved by the senior staff and wasn’t even my idea so I can’t really claim the credit.

Alex Bargmann CMC'11 more than leans left, as almost all of the people seem to do the school-paid-for Forum. (So much for balance, guys!) The Forum is run by Josh Siegel CMC '10 and Ross Boomer CMC '09. Siegel's angry with me for writing about his Claremont Confessions, anonymous gossip website, and Ross is angry with me for calling him a censor after he censored my comment on The Forum about homosexual activists. (Really, is the truth no defense?)

I also called Josh to task for some of the questions he asked during the J-Board of Eric Yingling. I felt the questions were inappropriate, which they were, as they addressed his occupation prior to coming to CMC. It was in no way relevant to the crime and constitutes, as far as I can see, an "attack" on a student with severe consequences. But of course, I'm the one who attacks students by reporting what actually happens. Am I missing something here?