Many on DailyKos seem to pillory
The Dem candidate well known as Hillary.
But to me she's no horror;
I'm now rooting for her,
Thus bracing for heavy artillery.
-- Torta
It's been a gradual thing for me, over the spring and summer -- but her recent responses to O'Reilly and Edelman, and then her excellent performance in tonight's debate, have clinched it. I'm now pretty much in Hillary Clinton's camp. I like all of the leading contenders, but, more and more -- she's the one I want for our next American president. I trust her experience, her strength, her grasp of the issues, her poise and confidence under pressure, and her keen sense of when to push back immediately and firmly against a potential swiftboating.
Which leaves me wondering if I'd be wiser to take a semi-hiatus from this place for the next eight months. I love DailyKos, but let's face it...
Let's face it -- to "love" an online community is a heck of a lot easier when they're playing your tune, more or less, in the collective sense. Down with Bush and Cheney? You bet. Easy as pie. Uh... ok, let's choose a different metaphor.
But "love" of DailyKos becomes a lot harder when it's primary season and when the crowd is not backing your favorite. Even Kos' call-out for civility and for support of the Democratic field, yesterday, seems to carry a Hilllary exception based on the content and tenor of Kos' own front page posts. Don't bash Dems -- well, of course, Hillary notwithstanding, right? 'Cause you know how it is on DailyKos. Is the "don't bash Dems" request really just a code for "No bashing John Edwards, ever -- and only bat at Barack Obama with kid gloves. Otherwise, have at it!" Or does it truly mean don't bash Dems?
I don't mean a lack of criticism. It would be totally civil and valid to say "Her stance on Iraq was/is something I just can't accept in a candidate." Fair enough and I personally can respect and understand that viewpoint, even though I'd argue that she has come a long way since then. I'm talking about the pillorying of her character, the name-calling that seems to just go a little bit further when Hillary's the target, versus when any other candidate is the target. I'm talking about the ad hominem.
I don't mean to play a martyr here, I hate that tendency when observing it in others. But now is now and here we are. I was a Waiting For Gore guy until those amazing Q2 fundraising numbers came in for Obama, Clinton, and Edwards -- and I think Gore got a clear message that the base is enthused, and not dissatisfied in the least, with the current field. I don't think he's running. And I am probably going to write Hillary Clinton a check and get active in her campaign.
Given that -- do I really want to spend time and energy on the losing end of what I saw happen to this place in the second half of 2003? Frankly the Dean vs Clark slugfest got damn nasty in here, then, and witnessing it was not fun for me. I shifted from DailyKos to other cyber-hangouts, for the most part -- coming back much more engaged once the primary season had sorted itself out, even though privately I wasn't feeling that enthused about the winner.
Actually the biggest hope I have about all of this is YearlyKos. There's nothing like face-to-face to mitigate our collective tendency toward uncivil armchair-and-keyboard vituperation. And how wonderful that the front-runners for 2008 will all be taking part. I hope that YearlyKos is an enriching event for all who attend.. and that it prompts the DailyKos community to remember to remember to re-humanize ourselves, time and time again, during this primary season. To not lose kindness altogether. If we can even get halfway there, then I might manage to stay right here with you all even if I'm rooting for a candidate whom many of you do not support.
So again, I am inspired more and more by what I'm seeing in Hillary Clinton. And hoping I can stay here on DailyKos nonetheless without the tone of the place getting too ugly. Because, yes, 2003 did almost get that bad for a week or two!
Just "thinking out loud" about all of this... comments welcome. Thanks.