"It’s easy to fall into this trap of confirmation bias. You believe this to be true and you keep reading content that confirms your bias. I worry about this more and more with smart opinion writers who only consume their own point of view. Here we have this incredible diversity of news and people are consuming it in such a narrow fashion. I worry that too many columnists are writing for their base, which is exacerbated by the most emailed list, the Internet’s version of TV ratings. There are too many people that get caught in the trap of “my audience isn’t going to like this.” The most influential columnists challenge what you think their ideology is once in a while. They’re not afraid when their base tells them they’re sellouts. On the left, my favorite sellout term is “corporatist.” On the right, it’s “mealy-mouthed” or “elitist.” It ends up becoming the political version of yo’ mama but, in my view, challenging your readership is a good thing."