All one need do is Google this man’s name and they would see for themselves just how terrible Erickson is…how dangerous he is to America…and just how much his very existence spells DOOM ™ for life as we know it. Quick-hide your women, shield your progeny…Erickson means to eat their livers and swallow their souls.

So one would think, at least, were one so inclined to click through to some of those chicken little stories out there in the nether world of the internets. From Non-Conservatives, to Academics and Liberal Elitists, to self-soiling and unprincipled Professional Politicians and firmly-entrenched good ole boys inside the M(ostly) S(cumbags) M(edia), each of these clowns has a tale of doom about the hell we’re headed for compliments of CNN’s hand basket. Problem is, as with every OTHER decent human being out there trying to do what he thinks is right for himself, his family, and his country, Erickson has pissed off people that disagree with his principles and can’t fathom that his success story grows and is in no small part sustained by his having stood unflinchingly by them.

What does the larger internet and political punditry community (unable to find success and relevance in its own right) decide to do when confronted with such a conundrum? Why, set out to unplug the microphone and drown out the voice…THAT’S what. I’m reminded, in these times, of a sellout of the US Military; an opportunist that made no small profit founding a website and swimming in the dollars of the angst of his minions – you remember Markos Moulitsas, don’t you? Tell me again how it is that Erickson is evil for starting in this business as an unpaid member, doing well enough at it to get hired on to RUN the place, and is now being asked to add his 2 cents worth on a freaking political News program? Oh, yeah, I forgot-it’s because he’s articulate, intelligent, experienced…isn’t an F-bomb flinging chimp for the party line…and Conservative. Did I mention he’s held elective Public office (Republican), too? All bad…ALL a threat to our way of life.

What was I thinking? [#facepalm]

I got into the blogging world entirely by accident. What drove me to it is less important than why I have stayed…and why I have invested so much of my time and money into being able to continue doing it: because I, too, have an opinion, and my forefathers ensured that I’d have the right to express it. I have a home base to do my blogging (RedState), but however far I might stray (Hickpolitics) from home I always come back.

Whether it’s because my friends at Redstate have had a horrendous moment in their personal lives that we don’t talk about out in the open web pages for the world to see, or just because we have happy news to share with each other…a hug, a virtual hand held, a shoulder to cry on (or a meetup for a beer to drown our sorrows in)… a marriage or a birth or a kid off to college or first grade…or a divorce or a death…we are a family. It’s not the writing for most of us, but the camaraderie and the fellowship that makes this place my home….and the Editors and Contributors and Diarists-their stories and their insights and their energy and commitment to what they believe in. And, in fairness, I’m sure these same truths are held in the camp of the political enemy; we ARE human beings after all, and while Politics is clearly a bloodsport, we are still Americans at the end of the day and we still give a flip about our country.

I’ve been at Redstate only a few months less than Erick. I’ve known him as a member of my “family” for going on 6 years. I’ve imbibed with him, I’ve laughed with him, and I’ve cried with him. I’ve watched him hold an 8 way conversation with a drink in one hand and the flaming hot keyboard of a cell phone in the other…and never missed a beat. He and I and countless other Redstaters have grown, together, from a little like-minded chatroom sounding board to the most prevalent and most widely read right-of-center website Community on the internet. He is my friend, and he is a friend to the Conservative movement-not because of Redstate, but THROUGH Redstate-which brought him, collectively, to the fore so he could help the rest of us grow to the next level. And, as a member of my family, I’m not taking this nonsense from the less-achieved crybabies on the Left sitting down.

I’m not all together surprised by the vitriol from our opponents over Erickson’s new gig at CNN, but I can’t help but laugh at the hollow logic of it. I am no friend of CNN, personally, over a great many things they have done with the news these past few years…not the least of which was their handling of the early Iraq days. Nor am I a fist-pumping frenziest over the Dozier story, and Capt. Funkhouser’s death because of her…though she did try to make amends with her head injury and PTSD coverage. My point? CNN is a news outlet, vying to stay in business. To do so, they need to be paying attention to their readers and their viewers…and most of all, to their advertisers.

The panty waists squealing like stuck pigs now over Erickson’s hiring can’t stop wetting themselves long enough to actually SEE that CNN is just doing what’s been asked of them all along; report the news and give analysis and commentary. What fear does Erickson’s entrance on to the stage actually instill in them lest it be that he might help them see they’ve been wrong? Failing that, then, I would think they’d be dancing in the streets…happy to see one of our Conservative own put up on stage so they can exclaim that Erick is PROOF the Conservatives are a bunch of dolts with tired and ineffective ideas.

Every one of us here knows which it is, and CNN’s decision to add him to the lineup only shows that they believe he’s got something to say that people want to (or should) hear. At the very least, they understand his addition will keep or gain viewership. Erickson’s got something to add to the debate just now about the state of Politics and Governance in America, and his point is just as valid as any of the other folks out there with experience and the guts to open their mouths and share it. CNN best serves its advertisers and its audience (and helps maintain its OWN relevance) by keeping it fresh, keeping it relevant, and giving ALL sides of the debate a place to air it out.

Good call, CNN.

Godspeed, my brother and good friend Erick Erickson…ignore the crybabies…we got your back man.