Dailykos and the left blogosphere has gotten pretty bloody lately. The candidate wars this year have turned, at this point, more vociferous than they've ever been. Many of you are disheartened. Sickened. Literally dread seeing the comments or diaries on dailykos, mydd, atrios or whatever left blog some days. You want peace. You want us all to get along. You want us to come to understanding through discussion and polite factual debate.
That is never going to happen. On the day that does happen we are no a free people.
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Politics is war by other means to reverse a phrase. From the time of ancient Athens (the real foundation of democracy. Not rome) democracies have used words as weapons of war to achieve their goals. It was this very democracy that made the people of that time consider Athens weak. The spartans, a tyrannical war-tribe made their decisions quickly and simply. The more powerful of the two kings would make a decision and take the tribe to war. They became the defacto war leaders of the entire region thusly and are still worshipped by historians today despite the failure of their system and the success of the Atheniens. That battle is still being fought today between left and right with the right idolising authoritarianism and control while the left believes the people and the individual are not only the moral but the practical means to a successful state.
By its very nature that makes democracy painful, bloody and contentious. The very things Right reviles most. Thats what you are witnessing right now in the Democratic primary.
America is at a crossroads. The Democratic party, riddled with corruption, incompetance and pacifistic unwillingness to solve problems was destroyed starting in the reign of Johnson and culminating near the end of the Carter presidency. Since that time we have been regrouping under a constant onslaught by our eternal plutocratic and authoritarian enemies within and without the party. In 2000 and 2004 the crisis point was nearly averted through the election and pressure release of a Democrat taking the presidency. The forces i speak of averted that however through legitimate and illegitimate means and that left us here - at the crisis point.
Because this election indeed is about the soul of the Democratic party but it is also about more. We are abandoning a historical cycle that goes back to the nations founding in which the parties switch ideologies to, for the first time, either set the nation and party back on a path leftward, or see our ideology die.
And that my friends is the heart of the metaphorical bloodshed in the party. Many of you are 'new' as it were and have not seen the detailed history of this site in particular. At one time on DailyKos to call Lieberman a republican or the more apt words of traitor, coward et al would have gotten you perpetually troll rated. There were those of us who never hid our disgust with the DLC , Lieberman, Zell Miller and the other traitors and suffered much donutage because of it. We recognised the battle and though others did as well we simply could not remain silent. Others believed that through peaceful polite discourse even the most hardcore republican or Lieberman supporter could be reasoned with. They were proven wrong.
That doesnt make them "bad people". It doesnt make them "less" because they were wrong. For some reason many here cant seem to understand that just as no politician im aware of other than Edwards can. Being in error by accident, making a wrong or bad judgement. Being shown publicly to be radically wrong doesnt make you a lesser human. Doesnt harm you. It means your human. The trick is to admit you're wrong not only is one of the greatest virtues, it gains you far more respect than the blind insanity of arguing falsehood in defense of ego. And that is what the radical nuts, the idiots dont get. Whether you're a hillary supporter, an Obama supporter, an edwards supporter.. simply doesnt matter. We've seen an abnormal number of Clinton supporters display this insanity on kos. Yes you can get mad at that if you want but the truth isnt a personal attack. But Many many of us, people ive talked to whom you all respect and know, believe this isnt an accident. It isnt that for some reason supporters of candidate a are evil. It is that imho and that of many others, the Clinton campaign has staffers, paid or otherwise, posting on DK decietfully and willing to spout complete partyline falsehoods over. And over. And over. Of course the clintonistas arent the only ones. Im quite certain that at least one very prominent diarist was an Edwards campaign worker, paid or otherwise. I have no idea about Obama. But the truth is that mostly those following the insane, dishonest lead of the Clinton posters (and that does not include all Hillary supporters or even the majority) were abusive, dishonest, and obnoxious. That of course caused rampant hostility to be transferred to good democrats who support Hillary. Is it the victims fault? No. Does fault rest with those with very short fuses and low trust when it comes to Pro-Clinton posts? No. The fault lies with the dishonest. The cowards who pretend to be other than what they are.
And that is where we were til yesterday. It was getting rough and many supporters of each candidate suffered emotional upset. But Hillary changed everything. She has openly sided with the GOP Candidate over a fellow democrat who is most likely going to beat her for the nominaton. That my friends is traitorous. Her dishonesty, her campaign tactics, if not for those there could have been forgiveness and a second chance for this (not)mistake. However that bridge was long ago burned. Of course some of you, most likely the idiots are going to make comparisons to Obamas reagan statements. But we know you're full of it. So do you. Obamas statements re Reagan were nauseating because they lent some miniscule amount of legitimacy to the evil bastard though. Not because he preferred Reagan to democrats or to any democrat. Not once did Obama come close to claiming Reagan would be preferable to any democrat.
Now for the preaching:
Obamas Reagan statement was nauseating.
The criticism that Edwards senate record didnt match his current campaing philosophy was a fair one and accurate.
Obama has not made clear to the american people the Details of what he stands for and what he will do in office.
Hmm... Wow. I'm not bleeding! Lets look closer. Nope.. not even an ounce of pain. My house hasnt burned down. I havent been shunned by my friends and family. In fact.. why i appear to be .. just as healthy as i was before. Honesty isnt a moral failure friends it is a moral virtue. It does not lose you credibility it gains it. Who would you trust.. a claimed friend who lied to you constantly. Or an opponent who was always honest and up front. Something to consider when posting on DKos.
In the end Clintonistas, and Obamaites and Edwardians and and and sometimes things do get rough. Sometimes they do get out of hand. It is your job to act like an adult. It is your job to speak with honor and integrity. Yes it is even your job to admit not only that you can be wrong but to owne up to it when you are. To god forbid apologise. Sometimes even to defend your opponents. That is honor. That is integrity. That is humanity. That is what it is to be a real democrat. Perhaps now is the time to turn over a new leaf. To force yourself, no matter how it pains the ego, to lend an ear to a friendly rival. To be honest about your candidate, cause , whatever. Even to defend the right to speak of those who oppose you. To uprate them. To downrate your so-called allies who, by their actions, do damage to the credibility of your "side". Who in the end are the root cause of the anger and persecution you feel. Ego isnt the answer to pain. It is the cause of it. So speak your mind. But be honest. There are more important things than winning an argument.