‘Grok contributor Julie Smith wrote an opinion piece last week in which she endorsed Scott Brown in New Hampshire’s increasingly crowded US Senate Republican primary. The giveaway that it was her endorsement was that the headline began with ‘SMITH’ followed by the words “I Am Supporting Scott Brown and So Should You.”
In the event of some confusion, at the bottom of her piece is a disclaimer we use often in these circumstances.
Authors at GraniteGrok are free to endorse whomever they choose personally; it is not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com, Grok Media LLC, its advertisers, other authors, or contributors.
I think candidate brown got it right when he thanked Julie on X for her support, but he did tag @GraniteGrok.
A recent email to my granitegrok email address observed that we’d endorsed him, and I may have missed some nuance, but that’s how I took it.
I responded that we had not and included the disclaimer from Julie’s piece.
Given that the crazy midterm thing is already underway, I will be fielding all sorts of similar assumptions, even though they are addressed on the About page – specifically, in the FAQ.
Endorsements
Despite what Democrats and way too many Republicans think, we are not a monolithic collective. Our authors do not always agree, and that includes candidates in primaries or even general elections. Individual authors may write about, promote, or endorse (or take to the woodshed) whomever they choose.
Different ‘Grok authors may endorse competing candidates in the same race. These are not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com.
Writing about candidates, even in a positive light, is not an endorsement by an author or this Website.
If you do not see the word “endorsement,” none should be implied.
When we do endorse as individual authors, we encourage each to be clear that this is their intention and no one else’s.
When we endorse as a website (as GraniteGrok.com), it is based on the majority of our authors’ votes on a selected race we have asked them vote on. This is rare. When we do endorse as a website, the words GraniteGrok or GraniteGrok.com Endorses (name of candidate) will be conspicuous (in the headline), so there is no doubt, with the understanding that this is based on a majority of our authors’ preferences. It does not obligate authors who opposed the Site choice to support the endorsed candidate, and they are free to endorse whomever they choose individually and to write about that on GraniteGrok.com, including trashing the candidate that was supported by the site.
We are so cool with this.
If you are unclear about whether GraniteGrok has endorsed a candidate, please email nh.steve@granitegrok.com.com.
We will endeavor to answer you as soon as we are able, but when in doubt, we did not endorse.
A Grok site endorsement is rare, and even rarer in recent years. Most northeastern Republicans don’t “do it” for us, which is evident in the manner in which we continue to take them to the same woodshed as Democrats for violating their oath of office, selling us out to lobbyists and moneyed interests, and cowering when the left sends rhetorical rounds in their direction or simply refusing to match their rate of fire or intensity.
Again.
Authors are free to support whomever they choose, regardless of what I think or any other author’s beliefs. This process is both healthy (debate) and humbling (the pushback can be withering).
And that’s what we are defending every day. The right to disagree, even enthusiastically, without being canceled, and enjoying a beer after (if you like beer), and it’s okay if you don’t.
Let me assure you that there is very little likelihood that we will endorse anyone, in any race, as a website in the midterms.
Our authors can endorse at will, and we will publish endorsements for republican candidates (so-called or otherwise) by op-ed writers as well (feel free to submit them). We don’t have to agree, but those are not endorsements by anyone but that author, either.
Clear as Nancy Pelosi’s Vodka? I hope so.
