Originally posted as a comment on Chuck Schumer's diary: Liberal Blogs are a Positive Force
First, I want to thank you for engaging with us on our “left wing blog” today, it is nice that you do this, and some might say that it is a testimony to your genuine desire to connect with your constituents, but then again, some might also say that it is a testimony to how critical the “left wing blogs” are to your candidacy and to the future of the democratic party ... in fact, some might argue that the “left wing blogs” are the dominant force in politics today, or more importantly, the blogosphere itself is the dominant MEDIA today. Welcome to a VIRTUAL NETROOTS NATION. ... but I think you already are well aware of our dominance, or else you wouldn't be here, now would you? Yeah, you have wisely taken it upon your self to personally reach out to us... to mend any ruffled feathers, as it were... due to your “unartfully worded” comments. Problem is, your comments weren't “unartful” ... Sir, what they were, was insulting, but it's much much worse than that... you see, because the real problem is (your real problem is) that we all here know quite well that those words you spoke in that interview were exactly how you honestly feel about us... in other words ...
...not “unartful” ... but honest.
A piece of advice... you should admit that that is how you really feel. I promise you will earn more respect from us by telling the truth, rather than this weak attempt to reframe your words into a more palatable BS (ahem, "narrative")... because it won't work. I assure you. Here... Let me let you in on a little secret about the “left wing blogging” culture... WE LIKE HONESTY. We like candor. In fact, We LOVE candor. And... We despise lies and falsehoods and superficial BS.... we ESPECIALLY despise superficial BS. That is the worst thing you could possibly do with us, because (a) we will see through it in a NEW YORK MINUTE, and (b) you will be insulting our intelligence.
What do we want and respect?
We want depth! And that means that we want you to address the questions we raise with specificity and detail, not pandering double-talk. “The devil's in the details” they say.
Yup, we are a DETAIL ORIENTED culture.
That's what we respect.
That's what we want.
That's what we demand.
Anything less, will not only not help you... it will hurt you, here in these virtual halls. (and no, you can't take back what you said ... EVER ... you either stand by what you said, and own it, and change your colors and habits (for REALZ) or we will NEVER rise to support you, and in fact, we will actively fight you. We will replace you. Count on it.
Let me give you an example to illustrate why your attempt here today was a fail, by breaking down the actual “unartful” offensive insulting words from that interview.
Here's what was said in that interview:
IC: You don’t think Elizabeth Warren makes a villain out of Wall Street?
CS: I am just going to leave it at what I said.
IC: Forget Warren then. Is this a problem for your party?
CS: You don’t want to go after them for the sake of going after them. The left-wing blogs want you to be completely and always anti–Wall Street. It’s not the right way to be.
IC: So are the left-wing blogs as bad as the Tea Party ones in this case?
CS: Left-wing blogs are the mirror image. They just have less credibility and less clout.
Now, for starters, you're attacking Senator Warren, rather than supporting and applauding her efforts, and ....
NEWSFLASH:
(and I hate to break it to you (not really) but...)
YOU ARE gonna need to support Senator Warren's efforts,
and I do mean vigorously and aggressively support her efforts,
so that there is no mistaking where you stand,
(that is....
you are gonna need to do support her efforts,
if and only if, you want our continued support,
and not our ire)
That is a non-negotiable.
Make no mistake: This is not a negotiation.
You have NO BARGAINING CHIPS. None.
You are beholden to us.
I am not asking you to support her.
I am telling you to support her.
I am informing you.
I am giving you an order, in no uncertain terms.
... yes, an order ...
That's what the winners in a war do.
They dictate terms.
And we, the "left wing bloggers" won this war.
We put our man in the Whitehouse,
and in case you weren't paying attention,
we rejected your "Third Way" candidate Hillary Clinton,
we, the "left wing bloggers" beat the "Third Way"
candidate (Hillary) in the 2008 primary,
she was a shoe-in,
and we beat her,
so don't for a second attempt to marginalize and dismiss our power, because the only person you will be fooling is yourself, and you will only be digging a deeper ditch for your demise,
yes, i am unapologetically educating you with brutal honesty ...
(educating you on the new order of things)
I am schooling you...
...but it is beyond me as to why you should need me to tell you what should be freakin' obvious...
fact is...
Senator Elizabeth Warren is fighting the good fight....
...and you are on the wrong side of that fight.
The days when a corporate shill can sell their BS to the populace are over.
and yeah, you a corporate shill and we know it,
You will not win our support through anything short of full capitulation.
You can ignore my words, but you would be foolish to do so. Why? For the same reason that you took the time to engage here, because you need us and you know it.
Be advised:
With the advent of the internet and full maturation and blossoming of the Social Network media, politicians will be held accountable for their actions (as simply a natural course of events due to humanity's unquenchable insatiable hunger for truth and knowledge) and so, rest assured, any covert or ulterior motives, any unethical allegiances, or deals, sooner or later, will be exposed. We are like hound dogs, in that way. We have an insatiable appetite for truth. Call it, HUMAN NATURE ITSELF, that you are battling... and with the ubiquitous nature of the internet community today... well, let's just say that we have an army of empowered individuals who are self-motivated and self-directed and....
and any one of them can post a diary or twitter or blog,
and that diary/twitter/blog can go viral,
and then the world will know the truth...
and we will own the narrative, not you,
do you want to test us?
go ahead, "make my day"
(as that idiot Clint Eastwood once said)
because we will eat you for lunch,
and every time you try,
it will only hurt you,
more and more,
and worse and worse,
because we will use every single attempt
by you to control the narrative (with your
corporate media BS tricks) against you,
here, read this article,
in case you missed this gem:
JPMorgan Cancels Twitter Q&A After an Epic #Fail
trust me,
really, you should trust me on this,
i know you don't know me,
but, i do know of what i speak,
i am (we are) much more savvy than you realize,
much more savvy about politics
and the reigns of power
than you can imagine,
i don't speak of such matters lightly,
and
i wouldn't speak to a US Senator
in this manner
if it weren't absolutely clear.
It is a loosing battle,
you are "spitting in the wind" as they say,
truth is,
it's not just a loosing battle,
take it as a given,
that the corporate powers
of your “Third Way” cabal
have lost the war...
your friends in the "Third Way"
just don't know it yet,
(they must suspect it by now, though)
eventually, though,
they are gonna figure it out,
and as such,
for the sake of the future of the Democratic Party,
and for the future of our Nation,
they should surrender now,
they should surrender and accept that
they will need to follow the rules now
and cease and desist from their unethical
irresponsible and abusive actions.
I assure you, any and all who do not walk a path of honor and integrity will be exposed for who and what they are.
FACT: You have a known allegiance to “The Third Way” and before you comment further, you would be well advised TO PERSONALLY read the recent diaries by the founder of this site, kos, most especially, these three:
1. Daily Kos will not enable those who enable Third Way
2. Chuck Schumer wants us to stop picking on Wall Street
3. Huh, so it IS a coordinated Wall Street Democrat campaign
... and don't just read those diaries, but you damn well better address each and every one of the issues that kos has delineated .... or else you will NEVER win back our support.
I promise you.
No, I am not being nice, and I am not sugar coating it, no.
Why should I?
I don't need you. We don't need you.
You need us.
and you've insulted us,
and in the blogging culture,
we don't suffer fools lightly,
so I have zero tolerance and zero patience for you,
you are a waste of our time,
unless you change your colors,
And if you get in our way, we will replace you.
You really do need to appreciate the nature of what is occurring here in this world,
and what has occurred,
namely,
a shift in the very fabric of power in this world....
namely and solely due to the internet.
And what does that shift mean to you?
Well, it means that you don't get to play those same BS games anymore and get away with it. You will loose. Trust me. Do not continue to fight us and think we will not see your true colors and expose you for who and what you are.
Consider how we view you...
You have just compared this esteemed community here (a community of highly educated learned experienced accomplished intelligent highly informed respectful “left wing bloggers”) to a group of irrational fanatic illiterate ignorant whackjobs....
Have you ever tried to have a deep detailed substantive discussion about the relevant facts with a teabagger? I have... many times... and it's impossible, because they are irrational and unwilling to admit even the most basic provable facts, if they disagree with their prejudiced viewpoint.
Bad move.
Teabaggers? Seriously?
Could you have been more stupid?
Teabaggers?
That would be a "third rail" for us.
There is none worse you could have compared us to. None.
As kos put it:
“...right-wing populists, the teabaggers, pushing for economy-destroying austerity, reactionary social policy, government shutdowns and national defaults.”
And we're the equivalent to that?
Those are the teabaggers that you've compared us to...
...to people who are voting against their own best interests...
THAT is who you have compared us to...
... and THAT is not “unartful”
that is outright insulting...
and let's be really candid here,
...you meant it.
Didn't you!?
THAT is exactly how you really feel.
Admit it.
Now, you don't have to admit it, of course, because we all know it's the truth... but then again, if you don't the honor to admit it, then this will speak volumes about your lack of spine. You can avoid and dismiss my words, but the problem is (your problems is) that we are now a force to be reckoned with... Yeah, you need us to win. So you have come here today, thinking to simply make some sort of superficial amends, and then you will continue to benefit from our good graces. You foolishly think that we won't see the truth behind your words.
Guess again.
Consider...
Would you treat your friends in the Third Way with the same sort of covert contempt?
or...
Would you dare to insult their intelligence with the same sort of superficial BS that you've tried to pawn off on us today?
I think not.
And...
Do you think your friends in the Third Way would be just as forgiving if you betrayed their interests... or insulted them thusly...
I doubt it.
And neither are we.
NEWS FLASH:
THAT is what you are doing, and if you want the continued support of the “left wing bloggers" then you had better learn to respect us and serve our needs JUST AS MUCH as you serve the needs of the Wall Street corporate folks who have funded you thus far.
consider this...
All that you've done with this diary
today is added insult to injury.
And no, I don't harbor any personal resentment towards Wall Street... not at all... and before you try to lecture me (or us) on the needs and inner-workings of Wall Street, please don't bother, because I am fairly certain that I understand Wall Street FAR BETTER than you do (or any politician), so do not attempt to sell that BS about you knowing what's best for Wall Street, or for us, because you don't.
Have you ever worked there?
Well, I have.
I am an IT exec who has PERSONALLY serviced the needs of those Wall Street folks... with 20+ years experience. I am a New Yorker... and not only have I worked on Wall Street and serviced their IT needs, but I have MANY friends who work there... and continue to work there...
and I know, not just the executives and the mega rich, but also, the secretaries and janitors, etc... (that you so love to cite as paramount in your concerns)
and I also know quite well how integral the Market is to our nation's and our world's healthy running economy, and yes, I am in full support of that free and unfettered market, but only as long as there are appropriate safeguards and regulatory oversight...
...safeguards and regulatory oversight that are not there today,
...safeguards and regulatory oversight that Sen.Warren is trying to implement,
...safeguards and regulatory oversight that are necessary to root out the corruption and mismanagement and gross criminal negligence that seems to be rampant in Wall Street,
and you ain't helping,
and yes,
I well appreciate the need to not strangle that industry....
but come on,
you know quite well that the agenda that Sen. Warren is pushing is not gonna do that,
so do not dare suggest,
(even (and especially) with your artfully worded implicit suggestion)
that she is hurting Wall Street or us...
or that she is in any way NOT contributing
towards ending the very problem you professed
to be concerned with, namely,
"the decline in middle-class incomes"
which is, yes, what you are implying by mentioning this in the manner that you did,
you are implying that you are concerned with "the decline in middle-class incomes" and that Sen.Warren is not,
and you are implying that the only reason that you are opposing Sen. Warren's agenda is because her agenda is contributing towards "the decline in middle-class incomes" and not reversing "the decline in middle-class incomes" ...and that implied suggestion of yours is a rather insidious attempt to change the narrative and cover up the fact that you are nothing more than a corporate shill who has been charged with the task by your Third Way friends to oppose Sen.Warren's agenda... an attempt that has failed. The fact of the matter is, Sen. Warren's agenda is a just and right and proper agenda, and it will benefit us all, INCLUDING the Wall Street folks, who are not as bright as they like to act... often, (in their blind greed) they DO NOT know what is in their best interests, not in the long run, and not in the global macro view of things.... all too often, they are short-sighted, and refuse to admit when they are wrong, much less, ignorant... in spite of what they might claim..
In closing, let me end with a critique of the first sentence/statement of your diary.
You wrote:
"To me, there is no single greater problem facing the United States today than the decline in middle-class incomes..."
Now, the problem I have with this statement of yours is that it is ingenuous.
Why?
because...
“the decline of the middle-class incomes” has NOTHING to do with the insult you have levied against the left-wing bloggers... and you know it,
and furthermore...
“the decline of the middle-class incomes” has NOTHING to do with why you have been opposing Sen.Warren's agenda, and we all know it,
and last but not least,
the cause of the “the decline of the middle-class incomes” has NOTHING to do with this:
My recent comments during a discussion about Wall Street and criticism from liberal blogs were unartfully worded. Let me explain a little more clearly what I meant: being from New York and representing its people, I see the individuals that make up the entirety of Wall Street. I see executives and vice presidents who contribute to the problems many people identify, but I also see leaders who recognize those problems and are working to correct them – but most importantly I see the secretaries, the clerks, the janitors and cafeteria workers who depend on Wall Street for their jobs.
And that's what you think is most important? "...the (thousands of) secretaries, the clerks, the janitors and cafeteria workers who depend on Wall Street for their jobs." and not the MILLIONS of people affected by the abuses of Wall Street? ...abuses that Sen.Warren is trying to end? And the really insulting aspect of your statement here is that you are subliminally implying that Sen.Warren efforts are gonna HURT those "secretaries, the clerks, the janitors and cafeteria workers who depend on Wall Street for their jobs." Which is a blatant flagrant bald faced lie.
It is you and your Third Way friends who are hurting them... just like that irresponsible "enabling" parent who knows that his child is robbing all of the homes in the neighborhood, but justifies it by saying that, "well, but my son spends his money at the local grocery story, which helps that stores business" .... except for the fact that this son of his got that money from robbing that very same store the night before.
So yea, you are insulting us with this BS.
(and yeah, we know why you have been opposing Sen.Warren's agenda... namely, because your friends at the Third Way told you to oppose her agenda)
and so please,
just please,
stop insulting our intelligence by trying to distract us with a common liberal meme (“the decline of the middle-class incomes”) designed to garner our emotional support by pushing our hot button trigger issues....
or by mentioning "secretaries, the clerks, the janitors and cafeteria workers"
please, just stop it,
we ain't buyin'
yeah, your diary garnered enough recs to make it to the rec list for a short period, because you are a US Senator, and people here do want everyone to see what you are writing, but don't be fooled by those recs.... you've sold no one on your BS....
Listen, that sort of a trick worked in prior generations, in prior media forums wherein the public was not really able to challenge your words and speak with same power of public influence or exposure that you have, but in this forum of the online world, that sort of tactic is weak and will never fly, because any one of us here can have equal exposure as you... and because you can't (because no one single person can) control the narrative... not in the blogging world, you can't. Not in a viral world, and by now, you politicians have figured out how powerful and uncontrollable that viral nature is, and that's why you're here, because you fucked up... you slipped, and said what you really felt, and this exposed your agenda... and you know it... and so you want to correct it, and smooth it over, but this diary ain't the way... you will need to really change your habits if you want our support. I am not asking you. I am not pleading with you. I am not begging you. Do whatever you want, but rest assured, we ain't buyin' the same BS you politicians have been shoveling for generations. We ain't fools here. We ain't ignorant. We are usually more informed than most, and we are at least as astute as you are, bank on it. We are watching, and we are legion, quite literally, (and growing, daily) and if you want our good graces, then you had better treat us and our agenda with the same reverence and respect that you have paid those folks at the Third Way previously, because now we are a far more powerful ally than they. Mark my words... We are the future... not them, and the sooner you and your fellow politicians who shill for the corrupt corporate interests figure this out, the better we all will be. Either way, your days are numbered. We own this internet turf, and this internet turf is the future... and you know it, and that's why you're posting here.
![BLOOMS-THINKING-SKILLS](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/347/19337322713_37b56f5ae8_z.jpg")
