Ether's comments on the Jeff Seemann thread have caused me to wonder whether there isn't a silver lining to Kos' mercenary comments. Perhaps the attention this issue has recieved in right-wing echo chambers will bring an entirely new Kos readership to the site...
I would love it if spamming Republican poster trolls start to regularly visit this site and become interested enough in our dialog to attempt to communicate with us. Ether began his off-topic anti-Kos diatribe with the same sort of factless beligerence that we have all come to expect from the right wing, but we successfully drew him into a more useful form of discourse. I was pleased to see the tone and content of his posts become constructive and thoughtful as the thread continued... even if it was still off-topic.
We have always agreed that our progressive ideas would win the day in a debate that wasn't framed by conservative propaganda. I look forward to the chance to be part of this debate. Welcome, Repulican trolls! Leave your talking points at the door, but please sit down and stay a while. You are welcome to get angry and annoyed with what you read here. But, please don't bottle it up. Articulate your dissent, and engage the rest of us. We are your neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And, we are just as crazy as you are.
The rest of us should try to encourage this participation, as well. We shouldn't be so quick to make our conservative friends disappear. We should try to help them articulate their views clearly and inoffensively in a manner that Kosacks will appreciate and understand. We should attempt to be persuasive, and not combative. In the end, we should hope and expect to win the day.