John Hawkins is a bit of an all-star in the conservative blogosphere. He’s been writing about politics since 2001, and regularly contributes content to his own site, RightWingNews — as well as to Townhall.com and The Huffington Post. He and I recently had an extended conversation on a variety of topics, including blogging and the rise of anti-intellectualism among Republicans.
John and I began part 1 of our conversation with a discussion about what it takes to make it as an independent “blogger.” Hawkins laments that it used to be easier to make it as a blogger — not just because the market was nascent — but also because the blogging community was much more tightly-knit.
That’s not to say it’s impossible to succeed now days. Hawkins believes it’s still possible to make a living as a blogger, so long as one finds a niche and works at gaining as much exposure as possible.
In part 2, our conversation, Hawkins and I discussed the rise of anti-intellectualism in the conservative movement. Hawkins mentioned that he often finds that conservatives in Washington, DC — and in particular those who work on Capitol Hill, often share opinions that are divergent from conservatives in “fly over country.”
Hawkin’s argument that geography is the crucial factor is an interesting one — and one that I take some issue with.