The Outrageous Failure of the dkos Community Yesterday
What happened yesterday?
I was ready. I was hopeful. I was anticipating with comraderly pleasure taking my place alongside the powerhouse collective of the dKos community, to rally behind one of the most important pieces of legislation passed in our nation's history, on a critical day in its struggle to survive the current administration's assaults on it.
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a landmark piece of legislation, right up there in importance to Americans and our nation with civil rights laws passed in the '60s and the Roe v. Wade decision. It's served our nation extrodinarily well, protecting critically endangered species across the entire spectrum of life -- plants, fish, mammals, insects, arthopods, birds, invertebrates.
Yesterday it was facing a cowardly, greed-based, ignorant assault from narrow-minded and dangerous groups, led by California Representative Richard Pombo.
I was looking forward -- nay, I had faith in -- the dKos community getting into highest gear and dialing their thoughts into the minds of Congresscritters with the simple message: "We support the Endangered Species Act. It's important to us and our nation. Vote 'no' on the Pombo bill."
You know what? That didn't happen. At +all+.
ESA, you were defeated by good men, who did nothing.
There were two diaries on this time-critical issue yesterday:
Mine...
(
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/29/11113/8280
...and jalefkowit's...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/29/111047/235
Just two. Neither made it to the rec list.
There were 8 or 9 front page stories during the course of the day, appearing in the same timeframe in which dKos members could have been reminded or made aware of this vote and prompted to call their representatives. Not one front-pager made this issue a priority.
I'm not going to point at any particular story or diary -- but surely, SURELY, the Endangered Species Act vote -- ON THE DAY THE VOTE WAS BEING TAKEN -- could have taken the place of one of them.
This vote was akin to the call to save bankruptcy protections. This vote was akin to saving vital health protections. And this community failed in its progressive responsibility.
If you're inclined, you can rationalize, amoritize it all you want.
Rationalization 1:
"Oh, it won't get past the Senate" or "It'll be watered down, it won't wind up being that bad."
You'd be missing the point. We wouldn't have had to fight the next battle if we had bothered to +show up+ to fight this one.
Additionally, now this dreck (Pombo's mess) is on the table. It's in play. There's no guarantee we're going to be able to stop all the nickel and diming that will be going on, the death from a thousand cuts. Now it may be a battle of (bad) compromises, instead of the rightful smackdown it should have been.
Rationalization #2:
"There were two or three diaries the day before the vote. It got coverage."
Really? Did we treat the assault on bankruptcy protections the same way? Did we say, "oh, someone did a diary on this yesterday, everyone got the message." Did we just write a a couple of anti-Bolton or anti-Gonzales diaries and leave it at that, and coast on the very day of the votes for confirmation? I'm pretty sure we didn't.
Rationalization #3:
"dKos is a sort-of democracy. If folks wanted this issue it would have been there."
Truer than true, on the bald face of it. But that's not the core point. Environmental issues are incredibly important to a very large percentage of progressive voters --
and non-progressives, too (when tailored to their locale). The vast majority of Americans, the
vast majority favor preserving species, wilderness, clean water, clean air and more. The Endangered Species Act is one of America's crown jewels of legislation and progress. What is America supposed to think when progressives themselves can't focus clearly or long enough to fight for it?
I used to not quite understand when I heard individuals speak about Republicans and Democrats being the same. Especially when I heard this from folks very involved with environmental issues, or from Green Party or Nader supporters.
But after yesterday, I understand them a little better now.
dKos is, presumably, an aggregate of progressives. I hear that booted about often enough. The careful deliniation that we're not "just Democrats," but +progressives+.
It was hard to discern that yesterday.
Rationalization #4:
"An environmental diary got on the rec list yesterday. It had the word 'Pombo' in it, as well as the phrase 'Endangered Species Act.'"
That well-written diary, written by environmentalist ...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/29/155157/129
... appeared on the rec list at the end of the day, after or just before the final vote on the Pombo bill was taken. A good diary, but not showcased in time.
In Conclusion
The longer the day went on, the madder, the more outraged, the more dismayed and betrayed I felt. So many similar threads on the front-page, so many non-time critical diaries on the rec list. The dKos community was, with a few exceptions, AWOL from duty.
This was and will continue to be one of the most important, progressive issues, and the progressives of this community, as a whole, did not answer the emergency call. No one was asking dKossers to chain themselves to sequoias. No one was asking for dKossers to throw themselves between whales and whaling boats. All that was asked, all that was required, was for a diary on the Endangered Species Act vote (+anyone's+ diary) to be either on the rec list or front-paged.
Sincerely, njgoldfinch