Has anyone seriously thought of compiling a well indexed, high quality book of the collected Kossack quotations?
I'd buy a book like that in a minute. I'd even pay $29.99 for a book like that... well...ummm maybe not that much...but $25.99 would do the trick.
The comments I read on the Daily Kos are more to the point and funnier that anything Michael Moore or Al Franken could come up with. There is a cornucopia of one-liners and stories from Kossacks. The book may well become the cult collector's item transformed into a runaway best seller, by word of mouth and the internet. I've seen stranger things happen in the book selling world.
I'm suggesting that the book limit itself to the wit, wisdom and humor of Kossacks because political humor and satire is about the hottest topic in the bookselling world currently. If it's presented to the publishing house as a political humor/satrie project it more likely to be published and even get a nice big advance against royalties. More ponderous issues could be the subject of a followup campanion volume to the first book, if it sells.
The timing of the book release could be scheduled to coincide with the 2008 presidential election to maximize the book's impact on the outcome of that election.
From an organizational perspective, a book of Kos quotations not only solidifies the existing internal organization of soldiers at the Daily Kos, but it can be a powerful recruiting tool for new Kossacks.
It also might make a lot of money, and even if it's only a break-even proposition, a book of quotations is a great way to get the message out to people who wouldn't otherwise be acquainted with the Daily Kos.
Who knows? Maybe some crazy producer might want to purchase film rights. Movies have been made about such banal subjects as Star Trekkies and crossword puzzle cults. I'd say that a Daily Kos movie would probably have as many or more car crashes and Mexican standoffs as those movies!
The only tricky issue is intellectual property rights, which I'm assuming that the Daily Kos owns under terms of service. Some people may be reluctant to have their words used in a book and therefore the Daily Kos should allow people to opt out of any publishing project involving their dairies. I think most Kossacks would welcome the opportunity to donate their a few lines from their diaries to a good kos.
A frank discussion about donated royalties would need to happen. I've seen perfectly good organizations divided and destroyed over misunderstandings about money, especially when a lot of money is involved.
I imagine a book containing quotations, anecdotes, political cartoons, satire and commentary all nicely indexed by subject.
I'd certainly volunteer to help with such a compilation, if I didn't have to relocate out of flyover territory, to some latte drinking, urban outfitted Mecca of political ideas to take part in the project. Some of us like to toil in the anonymity of the American hearland, close to the belly of the beast. Besides I've got my mortgage nearly paid off and I live in a suburb of St. Louis.
It's just a suggestion and may well have been discussed to death by my elders at the Kos. Set me straight by schooling me about my naivety with your comments.