Please fade away
I’m embellishing a comment I made in the last thread and moving it up to the front page.
This is not specifically about Netroots Nation and Markos Moulitsos, the founder of DailyKos, and why he won’t go to Arizona next year. However, I went to the first two YearlyKos events so I can comment on this whether they like it or not. The first YearlyKos in Las Vegas was amazing. The second was just weird in ways I can’t even describe. The “vibe” was off and I started to feel coerced in a way that was not dissimilar to the kind of emotional manipulation you might find in a fundy evangelical tent revival meeting. It was deeply unsettling. So, maybe I knew after YearlyKos2 that I didn’t really belong anymore.
But now I hear that Kos is onboard with getting behind Hillary and telling his droogs to fall in line. I don’t know because I don’t go to DailyKos and haven’t for going on 6 years now. But I did read his self-righteous little screed about why he wouldn’t be attending Netroots Nation in 2015 and here’s my take on it:
For the presidential campaigns of 2016, Kos should STFU. Seriously, it was Kos that forced us (Clintonistas posting at DailyKos) out of our tribe and then lead the social psychology storm troopers to quell stifle smother kill dissent on the left. If I recall correctly, he referred to us as a “shrieking band of paranoid holdouts”, or something to that effect. (Katiebird may remember the lovely term of endearment better than I can) Let’s examine Kos’s moral authority to make pronouncements about 2016.
Did Kos support Florida and Michigan voters in 2008? Um, no.
Was Kos a Hispanic leader defending the rights of primary voters who were locked out of Texas caucus sites? Um, no.
Did he defend the little old ladies who were silenced in Kansas? How about the primary votes in NJ that were handed over to Obama at the convention without so much as a “by your leave” by that paragon of virtue, Jon Corzine? Did he question the precedent the Democrats were setting when the most successful female candidate in the history of American politics was humiliated by being denied a legitimate role call vote at the convention?
No, No and, most emphatically, No.
His behavior was egregious and extraordinarily un-democratic in 2008 but no one challenged him. Well, WE did but then his flying monkeys accused us of racism.
So, I’m sure that Kos now flatters himself as a man of principle by refraining from entering Arizona. But he sold those principles to the highest bidder in 2008 giving us a president who I am convinced will go down in history as the Nero of our republic. In the process, he helped to invalidate the primary system, promoted the ends justifying the means, and allowed misogynism of the most vile and opportunistic kind to flourish on his blog.
So, fuck Kos with a 2″ diameter test tube brush.
He’s done enough damage. The best thing for Democrats to do is to get the hell out of the way and let people have choices in 2016. A legitimate primary where real issues are discussed in detail by women who are familiar with policy, and can extrapolate policy outcomes, would be a very good thing. The party’s obsession with trying to decide what is the best for us (and I am being generous with my words here) backfired stupendously in 2008. It needs to back off now.
Just stop tinkering with the election process. Most Democratic voters know who is going to work for them. They don’t need to be corralled like sheep.
Update: So, I went over to the Big Orange Satan to see what they’re up to and it’s worse than I thought. They are playing with dangerous things.
Update2: Maybe it doesn’t matter whether Kos attends Netroots Nation. But we should never forget the atmosphere that he created in 2008 or dismiss the idea that it can’t happen again. It can if we aren’t vigilant. IMHO, Democrats should start with a fresh slate in 2016 (not necessarily fresh candidates) and evaluate candidates more dispassionately than they did in 2008. (yes, I know I’m dreaming) As far as I can see, we did not learn our lessons and safeguards are not in place in the primary system or online to prevent a repeat.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Arizona, Big Orange Satan, Hillary Clinton, hispanics, immigration, Markos Moulitsos, Netroots Nation, YearlyKos |
The Confluence 
The guy lacks integrity. If she runs, Hillary will probably spend ad money at DailyKos, because that’s what politicians do. It’s value neutral. But he’s a sleazy guy, especially after the “skin darkening” photo outrage. Sometimes, politicians have to just hold their noses and do what must be done. It’s nauseating.
Did he ever apologize for that? I don’t think he did.
That was probably the single most outrageous incident of 2008, at least within blogworld.
About your first update …
What exactly was that essay about? I honestly couldn’t follow his logic.
Was it endorsing a One World / One Government — open borders idea? Or against it?
I think he is proposing a left wing version of the Tea Party along nationalist lines. Any idea espousing a turn towards nationalism sounds very, very hinky to me because that kind of movement seeks a strong, and typically authoritarian, leader. They’re drawn to one another.
One thing that will keep him from being dangerous is that he’s a horrible writer. I didn’t follow his message at all.
I guess the tendency toward authoritarianism is a strike against a Huey Long type? I think he was a bit authoritarian?? I read a good biography about him many, many (30+) years ago and should probably reread it.
How would a Lefty-Nationalist movement look? What would the issues be?
Good question. I’d hate to suggest a starting point for such a movement without transgressing into Godwin territory but you only have to go back to the era after WWI to see the influence of communism and socialism on Europe to see how it completely freaked people out. And then, with the infusion of money from industrialists, these “socialist” movements were subtly turned towards nationalism and worse.
I’d really rather not go there but I could see it happen. There’s a Point of Inquiry podcast about authoritarian movements on the left. They aren’t common but they do happen. I think it is hard for us to separate the right vs left from authoritarianism vs liberalism. It can get confusing. But it’s probably more helpful to brush up on what defines authoritarianism because that is direction that populations turn when they are experiencing a lot of economic instability and political chaos. They look for a strong authoritarian leader and nationalist movements tend to produce these kinds of leaders.
I kinda get where the writer is coming from. He is looking for an antidote for the Tea Party and he thinks a competing movement from the left is the way to go. But that is not the answer, IMHO. Because what do you get from that but more dogmatism and extremism except this time from the left? I think there is a better way.
I get what you’re saying. I’m a little afraid that all the anti-Russia/Putin talk is leading to that.
Whoo-hoo! I just wired my own hanging pendant lamp!
!!! Yay! That’s really something. Can you post a photo? Maybe a project post? We could all post photos of what we’re up to.
Yup, when I string it up. I need one more washer to take the strain off the socket structure before I hang it. But I’m impressed that the test run works. It lights up and didn’t spark or set the house on fire. Success.
The cool part is I made it out of a metal spheroid shape thingy I saw in Target. It was on sale for $14. Then I bought the lighting fixture pieces from Home Despot. The lighting pendant I originally wanted cost about $90. This one will cost me about $31 total. So, all around a good deal. you just need to keep your eyes open and be willing to drill holes in things.
It sounds VERY fun
You’re brilliant. I can’t even imagine doing that because I can’t follow the instructions,
Yay, you.
Nope, not brilliant. Just motivated.
Don’t know if you have seen what Charlie Pierce had to say about the net roots gathering this year. In case you haven’t, here it is.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/Detroit_Weekend
A lot to think about in that post. Hell, a lot to drink about in that post.
Wolf nipple chips. OMG, he went there.
We’re dooooomed.
In 2008 when the Obots wrecked havoc on the party with scorched earth meanness, misogyny and accusations of r@cism and then had no plan to, you know, actually govern, were we the only ones who saw that it was going to be a disaster for the Democrats? Heck, Pierce didn’t even mention a feminist presence. Not surprising because they have become Las Desaparecidas since 2008. Well, they got what they wanted and the rest of us are screwed.