That’s Right Nate

Gentle readers, I thank you for you patience from our usual format as we honor that which is truly special about the world of blogging.  I am proud of my contribution to political discourse in the country.   There were over 50 Natie awards this year in our biggest Natie awards yet.  The vast majority of these awards were for technical things like typography and layout and were awarded in a separate ceremony earlier this afternoon. The remaining two Naties are for video production and for contributor of the year.

Video Production: This year, we’ve been fortunate to air a large number of videos on this blog.   We’ve shown everything from music videos to campaign ads.  No, actually we’ve really only shown music videos and campaign ads.  Here are this year’s nominees for video of the year.   Double clicking on them will give you the video in full size:

Bye Bye Bush – Nate Peele Director

House Salute – Nate Peele Director

Republican Delight – Nate Peele Director

Texas Hold On - Nate Peele Director

Kimble for Congress Ad #2 -Larry Appleton Director

Kimble for Congress Spanish Ad – Larry Appleton Director

And the Winner is…Republican Delight.   When Michael Steele first put the word out for an edgier more urban Republican party, we were on it like Rush Limbaugh at an Old Country Buffet.  The resulting work gets across Republican values with the hip hop beats that keep it real for today’s urban youth.

The Natie for contributor of the year was difficult to award.  2009 was the first year when we have had guest commentators and Jack Kimble certainly has done more than his fair share of contibruting.   Some of our favorite commentators haven’t been around in awhile.  Zenyenta who was our first fan is no longer on the internet, Gina, Fraser, and Wrecks haven’t responded here in awhile.  Shannon has gone away, she’s drifting off to sea.   Steve has moved to Texas and doesn’t post nearly as frequently as he once did.   We’ve had some recent additions to our family in Cecily and Kodauzhf McJim, but neither of them have really had the sheet volume of posts needed to qualify.

We’ve had some tremendous followers on Twitter and I hate to mention them all for fear I’ll forget a few.   That’s the reason I’ve stopped doing Follow Fridays.   However, these people stand out for their support in Retweeting @chloebeetle @Kbenninato @KennethLibby @Dasani_01 @Aliceinthewater @Csmith2471 @Tab42 @Gottalaff.  Yeah, I knew I’d leave off people.  I’m trying to think in terms of retweeting instead of just basic support.

The winner for contributor of the year is Lola.  She’s been with this blog from very early on and she is largely responsible for my popularity in Brazil, which I understand is daunting.  She’s always been great about linking to my columns which she finds particularly interesting.  So there you have it the 2009 Natie winners.   For those of you who didn’t win this year, now you have something to aspire to for 2010.

The journalism Natie is the crown jewel of the Natie awards.   To be nominated, an article must seamlessly combine fact, analysis, and opinion to let the reader know not only what is happening in the world, but also to let them know what they should think about it.   This is the most difficult category to narrow down the nominations for and this year was especially difficult.   Last year’s winner Now Obama Has His Own Flag – I Bet the Colors Run set the bar very high, but I believe all 6 of this year’s nominees surpassed it in some way.  The nominees are:

1. Obama Endangers Rural Illinois (www.thatsrightnate.com)
2. A Patriot’s Guide to Disrupting Town Halls (www.thatsrightnate.com)
3. Obama’s Surgeon General is Just Too Fat (www.thatsrightnate.com)
4. Did Obama Murder Stimulus Critic Mark Sanford (www.thatsrightnate.com)
5. Report Attacking Conservatives is the Real Terrorism (www.thatsrightnate.com)
6. Obama Recites Presidential Oath on Koran (www.thatsrightnate.com)

In a very close vote, Obama Recites Presidential Oath on Koran is the winner!!

Wow, I feel very honored to have personally captured 3 Naties so far this year and to have all 4 of the winners be from my site.  The NATIE nominations remain a great place to find a half dozen of the most important and most influential blog postings in the past year.