In 2003, when I took my first, reluctant steps into the blogosphere, “That Colored Fella’s Weblog” (TCFW) was the first local political blog I found. Opinionated, smart and not afraid to call out bullshit on the Right or Left, it soon became a favorite of mine (despite the fact that I was usually too intimidated by TCF’s thorough posts and incisive political/social commentary to actually comment).

Thanks in part to high-profile boosters such as blog evangelist Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune, TCFW is arguably one of the best-known local blogs focused on social/political commentary. Offline, “That Colored Fella” is better known as Bert M. Caradine, a freelance writer based in Oak Park, IL. Caradine, a self-confessed “pundit junkie” was inspired to start a blog by, of all things, PBS stalwart The McLaughlin Group . Recently, TCFW has expanded to host the commentary of two more bloggers, “Jadegold” and “Carla” (also of Preemptive Karma ). It looks like TCF is on the verge of creating a “McLaughlin Group” of his own. The following exchange is edited from two recent e-mail interviews with Caradine:

TCP: You, ArchPundit, DJWinfo , all are like the “Big Name” political bloggers in the state. Was this something you had planned for yourself when starting your blog?

BC: Whatever status I’ve attained in the political blogosphere, I could not have fathomed that any such thing was possible at the time that I started my blog. I wanted to prove to myself that whatever insight I had gained about politics over the years was truly unique, and therefore worthy of others to hear. My ego thanks you for classifying me as one of the “Big Name” political bloggers in Illinois! I think it was due in part to arriving at the genre way before many, and thus gaining the attention of other influential political bloggers and benefactors like Eric Zorn at the Chicago Tribune.

TCP: What kind of impact do you see your blog and other similar political blogs making in an Illinois progressive political movement?

BC: Not to be flippant, but I seriously question whether there’s a “progressive Illinois movement”, and/or whether us bloggers would have any influence over it if it did exist. For me, proof would be for the MSM [mainstream media] to come calling for our opinion (Eric Zorn is the only one I know of), and for the Democratic Party recognizing us as having some kind of influence instead of giving us lip service as the Barack Obama campaign did. I recently heard a leading national political pundit refer to what we bloggers offer as "sniping”, and nothing will change until we get more respect than that.

TCP: What do you think would garner that respect? A blogger "scooping” mainstream media on a story? More buy-in and acceptance from journalists like Eric Zorn?

BC: I don’t think the “respect” would ever come, but if there was an opportunity for the MSM to exploit something a blogger did (like a scoop), one of us might be able to break through.

TCP: As for the IL progressive movement (or lack thereof), do you think momentum was lost after election 2004 that could have jump-started a progressive community? Or do you think that there was not much of note going on anyway?

BC:Seeing that Illinois is steadily progressing to the Left, I think there’s really no vacuum for such a political movement in the state.

TCP: What do you think of Barack Obama doing a blog/podcasting and such? Do you think technology/ the Internet will play a big role (or any role) in political communications/organizing?

BC:It’s already happening with organizations like Move On and People for the American Way , whose online advocacy is having an impact. It has also been the only effective way the Left has had to reach ordinary Americans without their message being filtered or ignored.

TCP: Do you consider yourself to be a journalist? A commentator? An activist? Would doing TCFW full time change your answer in any way?

BC: A journalist? Heck no. Commentator? Uh, sure. Activist? Too lazy. If I could get paid handsomely to blog full-time, I’d do it in a second. And yes, I’d make the last two attributes instantly viable.

TCP: You’re a gay man of color, and you’re pretty much it, I would suspect, political bloggers in Illinois who aren’t straight white guys. Do you know of any other “other” bloggers in IL focused on politics, particularly progressive politics?

BC: Nope, TCF has corned the market as the only openly gay, man of color political blogger in Illinois!! The closest the competition comes is Genia at SistersTalk, who is in Wisconsin.

TCP: It seems like recently you’ve been blogging less about some of your outside interests, such as music, and blogging more about politics, and your interest in music has always been of interest to me.

BC: I’ve never thought about starting a music blog because it would be filled with the rantings of a bitter ex-industry veteran [Caradine is a blues guitarist and worked in the music industry for over 16 years] and my choice of music I’d blog about would be considered ‘fuddy-duddy.’

TCP: What’s it like being “Internet Famous”? Any perks? Do you feel like you’re a “Big Name Blogger“ here in Illinois?

BC: While I feel that my moniker and blog are well known in Illinois and the Lefty blogsphere as a whole, I don’t know if it fits the “Internet famous“ mode. I’d like to see much more blog traffic at TCFW before I’d believe the hype. And yes, I’d like to take my blogging to the next level, preferably in a political radio show format. But I do not have the connections for that right now.

TCP: Finally, why "That Colored Fella” as a pseudonym? Do you still get grief for it? I think a couple of times people left comments saying they were offended.

BC: My father, who nurtured my passion for politics, grew up in Jim Crow/segregated Arkansas where the separated public accommodations were labeled “Whites Only“ or “Coloreds Only”. Till his later years, he would still refer to Black folks as “that colored family down the street”, for example. It’s an homage to him.

And the only grief I get about it comes from people who think (erroneously) that it is a derogatory racial term. If it is, someone better tell the NAACP.

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