Blue Spot

Blogfather sees Netroots' growing clout - Mike Allen - Politico.com

AUSTIN, Texas — Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the Daily Kos political blog, told a huge annual gathering of online activists that they have shown their power and must continue pushing Democratic politicians to remain progressive.

"We’re not still at capacity — we’re not at our peak,” Moulitsas said to applause from the crowd of just over 2,000 at the Austin Convention Center. “We’re the mainstream. … What we really don’t like are Democrats who are afraid to be Democrats.”

“It’s been about four years — but in blog years, it’s like three millennia,” he said. “Remember, when I started Daily Kos, and when so many of you were starting your blogs and looking for information, about 2002, there was no strong, unapologetic, muscular, progressive voices in the media landscape. …

“God knows, if you’re a conservative, you’ve got a whole buffet to choose from. But if you were a strong progressive, you had nothing. So I started Daily Kos not because I had a grand vision, but because I was frustrated with the way my politics were going. And I found out very, very quickly that there was a lot of people like me — all over the country, also frustrated.

“And I know conservatives hate to hear this, but when people ask why Daily Kos was successful and why the blogosphere has grown the way it is, it is because there’s a market niche.”

Moulitsas said the progressives are “going to win again in 2008.”

“We’re not looking for ideological purity,” he continued. “Whether they’re opportunity or they’re investing in our country — whatever those values are, those are American values. They’re not left, right, center — they’re American values. And we’ve abandoned them out of fear, and we’ve got to stop doing that.”

Moulitsas drew hearty applause when he warned: “In 2010, we’re going to have some Democrats we’re going to pay some visits to in some primaries. … Too many Democrats in D.C. have lost touch. ...

“They still think this is a conservative country. And therefore, we’re going to have to remind them. And this is very helpful for them — we’re doing it for their own good. They’re going to realize that they can actually be who they want to be, because the people are ready for a progressive America.”

I have to say that I agree with much of what the DKos community stands for. I just hate the behaviour of the community in general. Their juvenile, vile attitude was a real turn-off during the primaries. However, generally speaking I agree with their principles.

But if you just take a step back and take your progressive shoes off for just a moment, that last quote from Markos just seems like a mirror-image of what conservatives are always spewing. I think what America is really ready for is an end to all the bickering from both sides. This is why the middle (and there is a middle folks) is going to play such a big role in this election.

Maybe Markos can say that he's not looking for "ideological purity," but the people that make up a large part of his community sure are. And we we quickly found out during the nomination process that there is no longer any tolerance for moderate views in the left-wing blogosphere. The slightest hint of bi-partisanship and your labeled a traitor. Ford's treatment at Netroots Nation is a perfect example. During a Q & A session that followed, a questioner called Ford a right wing shill and attacked him for working at Fox News as an analyst. These people are equivalent to the Right-winger who attacked McCain for not being conservative enough. If Obama had taken some of his recent positions during the campaign against Hillary, the netroots would not have supported him the way they did. Mainstream! I don't think so.

Labels: Kos, Netroots