In the wake of the Alito loss, Kos writes:
We lost the cloture vote, but that was -- despite some of your best wishes -- a pre-ordained conclusion. But that doesn't mean we lost on the bigger picture.
What you guys accomplished the last week was amazing -- the outpouring of emails, letters, faxes, and phone calls was unprecedented for the netroots and particularly surprising given how weak our issue groups organized against Alito.
I've spent a good part of the month of December trying to organize a write in protest to this nominee. And in the last week, I've been writing and calling and e-mailing my arse off. And today was nuts. I called every possible number listed. Thanks to the diaries by Duke, and Armando's encouragment here, and Kerry and Kennedy's efforts, and Steven D and others at the Booman Tribune. This was a make or break issue for me and the Democratic Party. I've got two daughters, who I don't intend to raise in a country where they are second class citizens because they have lost their rights to control their reproductive lives to a bunch of nutbag christians.
What pisses me off about Kos' round-up of the vote is simply this. He says "we" lost these votes. If Armando said "we," or any of the others who were out in front on this issue, then I wouldn't bat an eye. But, frankly, Kos has personally been kind of absent as a leader on this issue. Not the first time from what I gather. Apparently doesn't see his role as one of leadership.
Last Thursday, he writes this:
I'm not saying "don't filibuster". I'm saying, "the math is not good. We need to make it better in the future". Personally, I'd like to see a little fight on the part of Dems, and the way to do that is to filibuster. Even if it might be ultimately unsuccessful. The fact that it would put Chafee and maybe DeWine in a difficult spot would be a bonus.
Math is not good. I'm reminded of a comedian's comments (Sam Kennison I think) on the Rodney King beat down, where it was said, "If you ever see me getting beat to death in the streets by a bunch of cops, put the fucking camera down and help me."
I don't think Kos put the camera down on this one. It was just politics. Just math. It wasn't math to me. It was core. I'm with the no more money, no more votes, no more support for Dems who haven't proven their loyalties to my core values. Fuck them. And I'm a little tired of hearing about the "netroots" from someone who may have helped build netroots Internet activism, but is unwilling to stand up and lead. I like to drive around town, but I didn't care too much for Henry Ford's politics. I know it is a bad time for all of us. And I can only anticipate the spew these opinions might engender. But I just don't want to be lifted up by someone saying come on, "we" were going to lose all along, when that person was not really fighting the same fight all along.