Let me go on the record as a Joe Klein fan. Whether you agree with his opinions or not, there is simply no denying the guy can flat out write. I remember reading Primary Colors over the course of a single cross-country flight soon after it came out, and I polished off Politics Lost in a couple of days last year.

Since Klein began blogging on Time.com it's been a bizarre combination of a slow motion car wreck and a UFC title fight watching him grapple with the hostility and rigid orthodoxy of the internet left.

Most of you have probably read Klein's new column in which he blasts back at the "free-range lunacy" he's encountered and the "fierce, bullying, often witless tone of intolerance that has overtaken the left-wing sector of the blogosphere."

Klein got exactly the sort of response one would expect.

Via Ross Douthat, I see David Frum has given Klein some tough love:

Yes, you get targeted because of your not-left-enough politics. Yes, no doubt many of your critics resent and envy your platinum membership in the DC Media Club.

But I am now wondering whether your critics did not also sniff out the self-regard, self-importance, and - yes - vulnerability exposed in the post quoted above. Just as you say, the left-wing bloggers are fierce, intolerant, and often witless bullies. But remember: bullies prey on weakness. Your quavering, pitiful, "hey cmon you guys, quit it" pleas only invite more pummelling. Be a man! Stop complaining. Stop paying the Danegeld of false compliments to people who don't deserve them. Hit back when you must; otherwise suck it up and keep working.

While I generally agree with Frum's advice, I didn't think Klein's slap at the lefty blogosphere came off as "quavering" or "pitiful." Masochistic, maybe, but not necessarily weak.