Why does Westminster listen to Guido?

Here's a question for you.

Why is that Fleet Street and Westminster are so obsessed with Paul 'Wank' Staines, aka 'Guido'? He appears on high profile broadcasts hosted by people like Paxman, he's interviewed on Terrestrial channels, he's given occasional slots in newspaper columns (Guardian, Times) and hacks fawn over him and deride him in varying measures every week.

But, why? The bloke has some connections, and he attacks 'the establishment'. Not especially unique characteristics. He's a great self-publicist and he uses his 'blog' to 'reveal' attack and berate. Except the reality is, his scoops and insights are very few and far between.

He spends most of his blogging time writing very poor quality 'articles', which often say little or nothing at all. Maybe a quip here and there, or something utterly unfunny (meant to show him up in a positive light).

When you boil it down, he's just a piss poor blogger who happens to have money and a few people feeding him info.

Yet he is obsessed over, as though he is this black angel in the shadows, waiting to swoop and take out our evil, corrupt establishment. Journalists dislike him, though they focus on the wrong reasons. They ought to look a little more deeply and study his 'HQ' a little better. For it is there that the Leprechaun bell end pumps out his self-promoting bullshit.

I had a little look earlier, and lo and behold, the place hasn't changed. Look at this piss poor 'article' for example. It's nothing out of the ordinary for Mr Wank. A quick piece about him lounging on a beach and telling the BBC to get lost on the phone. Tosser.

At the time of writing, the article attracted 1,750 'comments' from readers.

'Wow!' you're thinking, 'that's amazing...he must have a lot of readers, he must be good.'

Wrooooonnnng. Most of the comments are from the same people, who post under the most tear-jerkingly boring and puerile pseudonyms I have ever spotted. A hard core base of fans (and the odd plonker troll) who spend their lives on there like a gaggle of bored 13 year olds on MSN chat.

And this is what it is like there, every day. The comments pages reveal the most infantile, puerile, babyish, pathetic, sad, mentally deficient, remedial 'MSN' chat style discussions you'll ever see.

Outside of MSN chat logs belonging to daft 13 year olds that is.

And the mainstream media and MPs actually listen to this bloke? A bloke who writes shit and commands a sturdy following from assorted dick heads who write in text speak and can't formulate proper sentences never mind arguments within sentient discussion.

Take this contribution, for example, written by a tittering, dribbling Guido blog fan named 'thick as a cunt'

"Last warning kiddie fiddler. I’m gonna mod you to death if you don’t bow down to our lord, Gaydo."

Ah-ha! Ah-hahahaha! How hilarious! How witty!

Of course, as usual, a row or two develops on Guido comments sections. Good, healthy arguments? Er, I'm not sure.

For 'tat' levies this beauty at a contributor on the above article's comment's section:

"you are a nobody and I AM TOP BOY! SHUT IT YOU DOPEY SLAG!
we do not tolerate truther morons like you here. you are paranoid nutters.
I understand that atlas caters for that particular type of retard.
please leave this place immediately and take your gay lover 11.06 with you.
thankyou.
what a pair of sp@stics!"

Nice, huh? These are just two comments I've plucked out at random, I'm sure there are far, far worse on old 'MSN - Guido 2.0'.

Of course, at Boaty & D, we don't censor debate, but we certainly challenge any inappropriate and utterly banal and stupid comments from people who make them. We don't delete, as this is morally wrong and not remotely in the spirit of libertarianism, but if people are rude, unfunny and off-topic? Well, see for yourselves - we have some standards here at Boaty & D.

Even if you disagree with that, and you think the standard of debate here leaves a lot to be desired (sometimes it can descend slightly, though not too much), I think we ought to all agree that this bloke punches far and away above his weight on the media scene.

And his blog, and the discussions therein, are beyond pathetic.