I, for one, was delighted to see Human Events disagree with National Review in today's editorial (which I had nothing to do with, I might mention). Throwing elbows is a good thing. I mean, who could forget when Ann Coulter called Rich Lowry a "girlie man"? Those are good times!

In all seriousness, as you might imagine, there is quite an interesting, albeit, friendly competition between the two publications. And there's nothing new about the phenomenon; As far back as the 70s, Ronald Reagan wisely avoided taking sides by noting Human Events was his favorite newspaper, while National Review was his favorite magazine.

And now, the competition has carried over to the blogosphere. National Review was prescient in embracing the web years before Human Events went online, but in recent years, HEO has made major strides to catch up to the NRO. Still, as I recall, RedState's first slogan was something to the effect of: "RedState: Because not everyone can work for Buckley's magazine."

Of course, the truth is, the two publications often work together in a cooperative manner to advance the conservative movement. It's not uncommon for Eagle Publishing (Human Events parent company) to publish a book by a frequent National Review author. But cooperation isn't fun to write about, so instead, I'm going to be a bit divisive (please indulge me)...

NRO is stacked full of 30-40 something’s who are now seasoned journalists in their prime. While they are experienced, they may also have lost some of the quixotic exuberance that makes a young writer stay up all night. Conversely, HEO is a mix of veterans and rookies -- the kind of team that is a year away from making it to the World Series. The veterans have seen it all. They mentor the young up-and-coming future stars who are cutting their teeth and waiting to change the world.

Another difference is that it appears HEO prides itself more in being "movement" oriented. (Of course, HEO is based in DC, so, in fairness, it's easier for them to network with other conservatives.) HEO employees and writers attend blogger meetings weekly with folks from Townhall, Heritage, RedState, etc. The goal is to work together to advance the cause. HEO also has the Rightometer -- a blog that frequently quotes conservative sites, such as NRO's The Corner. The goal is to promote other conservative blogs (how nice of them). Conversely, the only time I recall NRO linking to Human Events is when I criticized K-LO for slamming the Bouchard campaign.

Conversely, NRO is based in New York. One can imagine that living in that environment might have some sort of negative impact. Granted, DC isn't exactly a conservative bastion, but NYC is another world. It's a six hour drive, and it seems that few people I encounter really knows anyone from NRO. I will say that every time I have met Ramesh, Rich, or Byron, they have been extremely polite and courteous. Still, they seem far removed ...

Additionally, many conservatives I talk to resent their criticizing conservative political candidates. Usually folks accuse NRO writers with being more concerned about being journalists than with advancing the movement -- which is okay. But most conservative pundits bite their tongue when a Sen. Allen or a Mike Bouchard are in a tight race and the election is only weeks away. NRO, however, doesn't hold back their criticisms (don't they realize that their ideas have consequences?).

The real difference between the publications may be summed up this way: NRO praised Boehner while HEO endorsed Pence. The difference of opinion isn't especially noteworthy. What is noteworthy is that Human Events called out National Review for their endorsement. (To me, this was reminiscent of the first time Biggie called out Tucac -- or maybe it was the other way around?).

But here's why I'm excited about this whole thing. See, the best thing that ever happened to the New York Yankees was the Boston Red Sox (and vice versa). Competition is healthy (as any conservative will tell you). So I'm laying down the guantlet. One can only hope this degenerates into a West Coast versus East Coast, um, NYC vs. DC thing...