Ambivalent Imbroglio cited an argument raised by Professor Althouse, where she questioned the blogging predilections of left- and right-leaning bloggers. She questioned why left-leaners seem to link to others with the motivation to criticize whereas right-leaners are more likely to link to others with whom they agree (in her argument, "others" seems to be those who lean in the opposite direction.)
Below is the comment I posted on AI's site:
"To the extent that her observation is true, about left-leaners linking to things they disagree with and right-learners linking to things they agree with, let's think about why that might be.If I (a presumptively left-leaning, though not particularly political, blogger) link to something I disagree with, it's generally because I think an important issue has been raised but that there's something missing from the analysis. I would post about it in order to add the insight I think is missing, which I think other people should consider. If I don't then also link to 'right-leaning' bloggers when I agree with them it's not that I begrudge the consensus, but simply that I don't think there's necessarily a point in doing it. There's nothing that can be added to the discourse by simply saying 'Right on!' when consensus happens to occur. (For what it's worth, however, sometimes I still might be inclined to link to something with which I agree if the analysis parallels mine to the point where I would simply want to point out how someone else has grasped the issue in a way I think it important. In other words, linking to their articulation spares me the trouble of having to write mine...)
I suspect that the reason a right-leaner might see the value in linking when there's consensus is because it suits the objective of creating hegemony around the ideas they prefer. A left-leaner might have the motivation to say, look, there's something missing from the discussion that we really need to consider. A right-leaner's motivation might, on the other hand, very well be to demonstrate, 'See, we all think this so it must be right,' which strengthens the force of those ideas in society, and ultimately serves to further marginalize dissent."
Edit 2/20: Ambivalent Imbroglio posted a response on his blog.