Some Kossacks snarked me but the bottom line is that the Bold Progressives straw poll has stalled out at less than 7,000 votes cast.
Two conclusions: Kossacks don’t care, and no one else cared enough to link to them not caring.
Early netroots participation in the electoral process in any statewide race is inherently problematic. The basis of our democracy is that representatives of different geographically joined groups of Americans get together to pass mutually beneficial laws. National organizations have always tried to influence local elections but whenever the Club for Growth tries to pick the candidate, disaster follows.
Are the Bold Progressives our Club for Growth?
I think so. Not because the individuals involved have unibrows or prehensile tails like the CFGers, but because they’re failing to respect the process or the participants. Politically I think our Netroots are proving to be every bit as naive as the wingnut bloggers. I don’t know if it’s a geek factor or what, but Kossacks are some of the most tone deaf political activists I’ve ever met. Anarchists give more thought to grooming than Kossacks give to the sensibilities of Democrats who actually live in the district/state.
If a district or — FSM-forbid! — state proves itself to be inherently racist or machine-controlled, well yeah, then you do battle with them. BUT YOU STILL DON’T TRY TO CONTROL THE PROCESS! You fight to reform the process. Either the voters need more education or the process needs reform but either way you respect the locals and help them to fix whatever problem there is. You don’t tell them who to vote for. Never.
But yeah, you can shovel money into any campaign you like because really, the Netroots are just about us being like them, and trying to buy what we make no effort to earn.
And I can tell you exactly why this is happening. Our people are starting to think like their people. When you decide what you want to do and then reverse engineer your justifications, well you’ve just embarked upon your life as a wingnut.
Progressives pride themselves on studying facts and then evolving a fact-based position that’s congruent with our other beliefs.
I love the A-listers and their blogs but this shit has to stop or the online left will blow itself up just like the wingnuts did.
[From an item posted today at my blog Norwegianity]