I am not a confrontational person, nor do I often find myself embroiled in the glorious art of blog-sniping, engaging in a tit-for-tat with some other online writer in the name of having the last word. That being said, I couldn't help but issue an official response to being called out on the
Americans for Bayh blog on Friday.
This all arose from a post I authored last Monday, in which I made the claim, "Evan Bayh: You want the netroots? Come and EARN it." My issue was with an Indianapolis Star article from last Sunday's paper, wherin the reporter attempted to have some sort of fluff piece about Evan Bayh's "net-root support," and essentially made it seem like the Bayh campaign was on the cutting edge of the internet revolution. I cried foul, and explained that if Senator Bayh wanted the netroots support, he damn well better start earning it.
Apparently, I hit a nerve.
It seems Marie over at
Americans for Bayh was miffed by my assertions:
Americans For Bayh Rebuttal Time for KOSland
The misrepresentation involves the evanbayhin2008 yahoo group. In a post at Daily KOS by YOSS titled You Want the Net Roots? Come earn it one of the comments by Truth and Progress was: Besides, that chat room already has 300 people! Hillary may as well throw in the towel. So I did some checking to see how many members other potential candidates had in their NATIONAL yahoo groups & here's how they stacked up:
Biden: 128; Clark has 2 groups: 13 & 524; Clinton has 5 groups: 18, 25, 26, 300, & 1 ; Edwards: 10; Feingold has 2 groups: 12 & 262; Gore has 2 groups: 9 & 21; Kerry has 2 groups: 110 & 28; Richardson: 89; Warner has 3 groups: 11, 5 & 31
Seems Truth & Progress did not do their homework. All of the members of each of these groups have worked hard for their candidates in an effort to share information.
Now, before any of you go off to search for who this "Truth and Progress" character is, I should tell you that she was referring to melvin. Apparently the sig-line/username divide was a fuzzy one in this case, but the sentiment still stands. Granted, melvin's comments were adversarial, but they weren't mine, and I have to admit that I chuckled at his plans for starting an online Presidential campaign for his canine friend. But I'll give Marie the benefit of the doubt, the discussion wasn't necessarily constructive, but it was by no means destructive.
My problem comes at the end of her post:
None of us are as big as KOSland but we have indeed worked very hard to build members. Netroots in KOSland?? Anyone can join KOS and blog. Anyone. Building something from nothing is an accomplishment not only for AFB but for all the Democrats in the list above. It's when you start from scratch and build from there. Another commenter indicated that Yoss had insulted Americans For Bayh and the evanbayhin08 yahoo group. No I wasn't insulted but Yoss at Daily KOS once again came across as well........ARROGANT. Will I still read at KOS? Yes and will try to ignore these kinds of "I'm better then you!" posts. My response to YOSS is simple.....You want some netroots go build it on your own without KOS.
Now, I'll get the the obvious demeaning and misguided attitude toward this website in a moment, but I just wanted to exhibit my arrogance before we continued. What did I say that was so terrible?
But even with this admission that Bayh doesn't have widespread success online, she ignores the fact that what exists for his campaign is a small segment of Midwestern Democrats who are reaching out to him. And while that sort of grassroots campaign is admirable and to be commended, it doesn't indicate Evan Bayh is following the "playbook." Hell, Bayh doesn't even know the playbook exists.
Now, I am a Hoosier, and a proud one at that. I have contended along with many here that our state has great potential as a turnaround state for the Democratic Party, especially as part of Dean's 50 State Strategy. We are going to be retaking the Statehouse in November, and the Governor's race in two years is more or less already won if Mitch Daniels stays on to run for a second term. And I must admit: I have a real soft spot for an Evan Bayh candidacy.
I don't need to hear the reasons why Bayh isn't right for the Democratic Party, because I have heard and agree with much of what has already been said on this site, and throughout the state of Indiana. He is by no means a perfect candidate, but I believe that he is a smart politician, and genuinely believes in making the lives of those he serves better. With all of this in mind, it pains me to say this to you Senator Bayh: You don't have the netroots support, and you never will unless you change your ways.
Evan Bayh, and numerous other potential 2008 candidates, seem to have it in their head that the grassroots, people-powered netroots movement is something that will come to them eventually. Let me be very clear to anyone from Bayh's campaign reading this when I say that they couldn't
be more wrong.
We are a community, and just like any other community in this country we deserve to have our interests addressed by any candidate wanting our support. It is the responsibility of the Bayh campaign, or any other candidate looking for support, to engage the blogosphere in a conversation about the issues. It is their responsibility, not ours, to serve as a catalyst for action. It is their responsibility, not ours, to make clear the issues they stand for.
Markos has said himself that we do not necessarily support candidates who fall in the classic liberal and progressive molds - We support candidates who break those molds.
So, my real point can be summed up in this letter I just sent to Evan Bayh's All America PAC media office:
Dear Senator Bayh,
As a member of the progressive netroots movement, I was pleased to see the recent story featured on your website about Sen. Bayh's interest in engaging the issues with an online audience. I am excited and interested in hearing what Sen. Bayh has to say, and I was writing to extend an invitation to the Senator from a group of proud Democrats on the web.
On behalf of the website Daily Kos, (http://www.dailykos.com),
I extend an offer to have Sen. Bayh come talk with us about his plans for America's future, and discuss the issues he truly cares about. Many candidates and proud Congressional Representatives have already come and talked with us about the state of our nation, and what they hope to do to make America a better place. We would love to add Sen. Bayh to
the list U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Governors, and propsective 2008 contenders, who have all come and talked with us for a few hours.
If you have any questions about setting up such an event, you can email me, or simply drop by the website to ask your questions.
I appreciate you taking the time to consider this offer.
Thank You,
Thomas
This is the message we need to be giving to any candidates or politicians wanting to entertain thoughts of netroots support: Come and get it.
We just want politicans and campaigns to come and talk to us. It's a simple request, and one that any other group in the country would demand of a candidate wanting their support.
So if you want to hear Sen. Bayh answer your questions, or have a candidate who you think needs a kick to the ass to get their online presence started, feel free to start sending out letters or emails similar to mine above. Let them know that we are here and waiting, but it is up to them to come to us
Ok, after reading that, I have to admit: I am out of control.
How dare I assert that Evan Bayh has a responsibility to engage his online supporters if he wants to consider himself a candidate of the netroots. How dare I assert that his campaign is taking for granted the hard work being done on behalf of him online already. How dare I assert that he might want to come and discuss the issues with the largest group of Democratic voters that exist online. How dare I assert that that Daily Kos is actually a powerhouse of grassroots activism that might be a necessary stop on any online tour. How dare I.
And before I get any further, what is with the animosity toward "KOSland" and the people who write here? The best response to that question came from "Lark Tracy," who posted a comment on the thread sometime yesterday:
Here are the arrogance levels as I see them:
Yoss -- "If Evan Bayh wants to gain the support of the netroots, he needs to do a lot more, (because so far he does nothing) and building a relationship with DailyKos (not KOSland), is a pretty great place to start."
You people -- "Whatever you arrogant prick. We've done something that's much better and more original than anyone ever, and you should recognize that. Maybe if you weren't so busy being an elitist, you'd realize that we've totally done everything we need to and more. And damn, did I mention it's impressive?"
Thanks but no thanks. This first venture into creating a dialogue with the larger netroots is going up in smoke faster than you can say "down home appeal."
Bayh's Indiana heritage isn't going to carry him to the white house, and sooner or later your campaign is going to need to realize that there's a hell of a lot of people in this country who are truly progressive, and we aren't going to be swayed by 'god bless this' and 'troop support that,' and 'I look like Kevin Kline.'
And you know what? Pretending "KOSland" is some kind of fantasy world full of communist loons who you're too good to merely interact with isn't a great way to start chipping into our proudly liberal hearts and minds.
At what point did Daily Kos become the entrenched status-quo in the blogosphere? I mean, reading Marie's post, you would think we were a lumbering giant of establishment gluttony, and the Bayh's online campaign is the cool new kid on the block, with their Blogspot accounts and Yahoo groups and email accounts. When did our grassroots efforts become invalidated due to the site's size and popularity? The answer: It hasn't, and it won't.
I understand if the folks over at Americans for Bayh are frustrated with what they see as a elitist attitude coming from this site and the rest of the mainstream liberal blogosphere. But what they need to understand is that there is no secret handshake to get in the club, and we aren't all one big monolithic entity of left-wing loons. We are a community, along with the rest of the liberal blogs out there, and we recognize the need to have understanding about the vast scope of the Democratic Party. But we are not going to give candidates who refuse to talk with us the benefit of the doubt, and we aren't going to just ignore a lack of engagement in the name of party unity. If Evan Bayh wants the netroots support, he will have to earn it. It doesn't have to be here, but it has to be somewhere, and he has to be willing to participate rather than simply appease.
There is a fundamental difference between acknowledgment and engagement, and this will become more clear as the next few election cycles bring more politicians to the liberal blogosphere. There will be some who recognize this and embrace this new chapter in the democratic process. For those that don't, we will offer no excuses for our lack of support. It is a simple, realistic, and logical request: If you want our support, come and get it. It doesn't have to be at Daily Kos, but it has to be somewhere, and it has to be genuine. And if that is arrogance, than so be it.
(Originally posted at my blog, Deny My Freedom)