Kos is a direct Democratic response to the bitterly partisan warfare of 21st century politics. Everyone on this site knows that, and most are here because that's exactly what they wanted.
I enjoy the site regularly, mostly because of the expert opinions and professional grade writing that I see regularly on issues that I care about (many thanks to bonddad and DarkSyde).
However, there are times when I think the means/ends circle is closed a little too quickly, without reflection on the whether our means as a community are undermining our ends.
The evidence on the flip . . .
UPDATED: thereisnospoon reminds me that the Liberal Blogging whoevers choose the ads, not Kos. So I stopped the insanity.
It was fun while it lasted.
Right now Kos has an ad for DiscoverAlternatives.org It is a seemingly harmless ad, touting the movement towards alternative fuels that the US if feeling right now. However, clicking on the ad will bring you to a page run by the Auto Alliance, a project of just about every major auto corporation I can imagine.
Their position is here and here is a sample
Priorities: Put more alternative fuel autos on our roads
Developing Autos and Fuels in Harmony: Alternative fuel autos and the alternative fuel supplies needed to power them must be developed in harmony. Automakers support an energy policy that helps ensure diverse energy supplies are available for alternative fuel automobiles on sale today and in the future.
It seems like a forward thinking, environmentally friendly position these auto makers hold, right?
But its not.
As this Rainforest Action Network release puts it:
Ford is one of the biggest global
warming polluters in the world. Its fleet of cars, trucks, and
SUVs puts more heat-trapping pollution into our skies each
year than the entire country of Mexico. And Ford's fleet
continues to produce more global warming pollution on
average than any other major automaker
Not surprising. But not only is Ford hiding damage created now, Ford is hiding the damage focusing on "alternative fuels" creates.
Alternative fuels are not how we will decrease global warming emissions from automobiles. Fuel economy is how we will decrease emissions from automobiles. Check out this graph from the Union of Concerned scientists:
The pink curve on this graph shows the amount of oil we could displace under an aggressive scenario for biofuels or other alternative fuels development.
So why would Ford be so interested in giving this misleading impression concerning their environmental stance?
Back to the Auto Alliance, also known as the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the Rainforest Action Network release:
The Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers, a group of automakers [is] suing to prevent California
and other states from implementing a popular law requiring
reductions in global warming pollution and promoting the kind of
clean technology that Ford says it supports.
There you go. A little of what us in the biz call "greenwashing." Not unusual, so what's the big deal?
Well, this is exactly the sort of underhanded media strategy that kos and all of us despise in an electoral campaign. In fact, this is very similar to the way the politicians use issues the move the general population on issues like gay marriage and immigration - issues that the courts should be deciding, but instead are politicized through careful marketing and media use.
Kos is aiding multinational corporations in defeating the type of progressive policy that Democrats need to push for a brighter future. He should remove the DiscoverAlternatives.org ad, and provide an explanation as to why it was here in the first place.