The other day Markos "Kos" announced that he voted for Dodd in his straw poll, though he declined to "endorse" anybody this election cycle, saying "I assume you have your own brains to guide you in that process."
Now that's all well and good, and I appreciate Kos' respect for our respective choices, but it's surprising that Kos has failed to date to at least take a more aggressive position against HRC, given that this site was built on zealous opposition to the sort of DLC mentality that Hillary represents.
Yesterday, there were numerous diaries regarding David Brooks' comments that the dominance of HRC this election cycle reflects a diminution in the power of the netroots. Specifically, Brooks stated, in relevant part, as follows:
Clinton has established this lead by repudiating the netroots theory of politics. As the journalist Matt Bai makes clear in his superb book, "The Argument," the netroots emerged in part in rebellion against Clintonian politics. They wanted bold colors and slashing attacks. They didn’t want their politicians catering to what Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of the Daily Kos calls "the mythical middle."
But Clinton has relied on Mark Penn, the epitome of the sort of consultant the netroots reject, and Penn’s approach has been entirely vindicated by the results so far.
link
While Brooks camments have been very capably debunked, it is undeniable that HRC's accomplishments thus far in the campaign can be, at least in part, attributed to a lack of focus by the netroots in opposing her. We are not seeing anything like the unified effort that propelled Dean to prominence in 04; or the tightly organized effort that forced Lieberman out of the party in 06'.
That the power of the netroots is diluted and to some extent defused should be attributed to a lack of strong leadership from folks like Markos. Sure, this is an egalitarian community of individuals, but it is undeniable that Markos' leadership can a galvanizing and mobilizing force for change. Yet now, when the DLC poses its greatest threat to the party, and Kos is most needed to step up in support of the ideals that brought this site to greatness, and the netroots to prominence, he responds with mere benign passivity.