"Anti-Catholic" blogger resigns from John Edwards' online staff. Is it because she couldn't take the gloves off in response or because the campaign asked her to go? That's a question many have been asking, so Amanda Marcotte has made a definitive statement about the controversy.

To correct misinformation in the comments, I was not "fired". I offered my resignation and it was accepted.

Marcotte has taken down her site due to heavy traffic except for a collection of hate email she's received as part of the controversy.

Her goodbye letter said:

... it was creating a situation where I felt that every time I coughed, I was risking the Edwards campaign. No matter what you think about the campaign, I signed on to be a supporter and a tireless employee for them, and if I can't do the job I was hired to do because Bill Donohue doesn't have anything better to do with his time than harass me, then I won't do it. I resigned my position today and they accepted.

There is good news. The main good news is that I don't have a conflict of interest issue anymore that was preventing me from defending myself against these baseless accusations. So it's on. The other good news is that the blogosphere has risen as one and protested, loudly, the influence a handful of well-financed right wing shills have on the public discourse.

Regardless of one's politics, it's upsetting to see that the swift-boat tactics once reserved for candidates is now happily spat at low-level bloggers. TechPresident.com notes:

At the risk of seeming dramatic, the resignation of a mid-level campaign staffer at the end of a pitched battle might signify a pretty big shift in the political landscape. More and more, campaigns are bringing on staffers with reputations and profiles already firmly established via blogging or other online work. Maybe Marcotte's is an isolated case. But it's not hard to imagine that in 2008, staffers with a high-profile digital life being subject to some measure of the scrutiny reserved in recent cycles for James Carville/Karl Rove-level aides or the candidate him/herself.