Does Daily Kos need saving? Some people, such as
Fox News staffers, would like to think so, as we all know by now. And there are various people, as the ridiculous hatchet job of an article states, within "our own ranks" who may also think so.
Apparently, just because Kos has come under relatively insignificant scrutiny (but well worth discussing in terms of "truthiness" and future transparency), we are all defamed. A debatable point, with various shades of merit...
But please follow me below the fold, as I beg to differ.
Are we all discredited because Kos is friends with or friends of a friend with a political figure or campaign? Is this such a militaristic system that whatever happens at the top trickles down and soils our reputations? Perhaps for some second-hand readers who have come to believe that Kos IS Daily Kos, there is something to believe in this theory.
But, with all due respect to Markos, who should still be regarded as nothing less than a visionary, this site now has a life of its own, and it's growing with influence by the minute. Nevermind that Kos (and his alleged, iron-fisted influence) was all but completely absent from the site for nearly a year due to his book--let's take a look at what has happened merely in the time SINCE the "controversy:"
MSM One-upsmanship:
- PsiFighter37 and Yoss of the Deny My Freedom team broke the Wilson vs. Libby-Chaney-Rove story for the Kos community, and their meteoric rise to the Recommended list directly preceded the boom in coverage by the mainstream media, which Yoss then documented in a series of updates. Just how related the MSM's increased coverage is to the story's posting on Daily Kos can never be measured, but the timeline is unavoidable.
- Just yesterday Barry Welsh was the first Kos user on the story of Israel attacking Lebanon, creating a worthy discussion with nearly 1,200 comments. Why is this particularly important? Because Barry isn't just a member of this website... he's running for congress.
Which brings me to my next point--
Direct Political Influence and Symbiotic Support:
I know Barry Welsh. He's running for congress in Indiana's 6th District, and doing a damn good job scaring the hell out of the entrenched Mike Pence.
There's a lot of discussion here about politicians--from Senator Kennedy to Obama--who come here to essentially advertise: copying their most recent mailing list message or paying a staffer to write something vibrant in their name, and carry the discussion for them. Personally, I still think it does a hell of a lot of good.
But I can personally guarantee that Barry Welsh writes everything that appears under his name, and participates in the discussions personally. Hell, that's how I met him. A lot of officials candidates do this earnestly, such as Barry and NYBri--and most importantly, it's because they didn't join this community because they were running for office, they're from this community, and hold many of the same values we do.
Fox News wants to report without citation that the Democratic Leadership is scared of us? GOOD! --whether it's true or not, We're running for office ourselves, anyway.
People want to lose their faith in Kos and Jerome? FINE! --that's their choice, but we're starting our OWN campaigns, anyway, and there's still a lot of hope and faith in them.
I have been personally inspired by Barry Welsh and the rest of the amazing grassroots work being doing by our community.
With all due respect to Kos and those that would like to tear him down, I say this: Markos and Jerome could be working for Karl Rove and it wouldn't stop us. Not now. Not ever. What we're doing as a community is everpresent. It's a spirit that has always been here, with America, with the people, and opponents that try to knock us down have never been able to stop us as a collective, and they never will be.
If you'd like to learn more about what our community members are doing for our collective values, visit any and all of the links in this diary, and feel free to learn more about Barry Welsh's campaign at his website: www.BarryWelsh.org --If you happen to be from Indiana, get involved with your local kommunity via his campaign, or help me and other Kossacks support it in whatever way you can.