I demand more rights! I demand more pay! I demand... who am I talking to? That's the simplest way to describe the idiocy coming out of the nutroots today. Tom Blumer says he's missing the punch line. I think I am too:

CHICAGO — Do bloggers need their own Norma Rae?

In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers are trying to band together to form a labor union they hope will help them receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards.

The effort is an extension of the blogosphere’s growing power and presence, especially within the political realm, and for many, evokes memories of the early labor organization of freelance writers in the early 1980s.Organizers hope a bloggers’ labor group will not only showcase the growing professionalism of the Web-based writers, but also the importance of their roles in candidates’ campaigns.

“I think people have just gotten to the point where people outside the blogosphere understand the value of what it is that we do on the progressive side,” said Susie Madrak, the author of Suburban Guerilla, who is active in the union campaign. “And I think they feel a little more entitled to ask for something now.”

Tom asks what employer they plan on going after, and my thoughts immediately jumped to Markos Moulitsas. Tom's did also. The thought of thousands of diarists staging a walk-out, or log-out, or something, is pretty appealing. I'm starting to like the idea. In all seriousness though, bloggers are their own bosses, or depending upon how they run their sites, the readers may be in charge. Bloggers don't need to unionize to demand more of themselves, and they certainly shouldn't demand more of their readers. Running on ads and donations is the safe bet, not unionizing.