I have been reading Kos for about two months now, and posting for less, and while I can normally follow the colloquialisms thrown around here (although it did take me a while to get used to SCLM without having to flip to the dKosopedia to look it up) there has been one phrase that has eluded my grasp- the Democratic Establishment.
Who/what is the Democratic Establishment? Who formally/informally makes up the Democratic Establishment? Is it a set group of people wielding power from DC, or is it more decentralized in nature- but still a small group? Or is it a term that those on this site have coined to buttonhole everyone who is a Democrat but is not nearly as progressive as they would like?
Am I, a 23 year-old campaign staffer for a moderate/conservative Democrat now considered to be part of the establishment, whereas only a few months before- as a college student/ campaign volunteer- I would not have been? I only have one answer to all these questions and that is, the people here at dKos do not take too kindly to the Democratic Establishment. My gut feelings after the jump...
As I said above, these are my gut feelings, there are no ways to back them up, and I am not entirely sold on them. So please feel free to enlighten me with your comments.
It seems to me that, in large part on this site, the words, "Democratic Establishment", get thrown around to describe people in the Democratic party that they/we do not agree with. And due to/because of the political climate we live in today, these members of the Democratic party also tend to run things in the Senate, DSCC, and the DCCC. It also looks to me that this moniker is not limited to elected officials, but can also include Congressional and Campaign staff, and anyone else who follows/supports the current mindset of the DCCC and the DSCC. And from fairly old diaries I have researched/read, the term also relates to those who dismissed Gov. Dean from the very beginning.
Could this have been the inception of the term, Democratic Establishment at Kos? Or if not the inception, then certainly the point where it exploded to what/how it is used today. And is the Democratic Establishment all that bad of a thing?
When I hear Democratic Establishment, I think of 85 year old ladies in Iowa getting in their car and driving down to their local caucus site and performing the ritual they have performed for 20,30,40 years now. They are truly the Democratic Establishment. They are the ones, who cooly, carefully, and strategically, withheld their decision from the campaigns and the polls until the last possible minute, allowing for Kerry and Edwards to take a combined 70% of the vote and giving Dean and Gephardt a combined 29% of the electorate (less than Edwards received on his own). They truly embody both words- at least separately.
If we are constantly lampooning Daschle, Matsui, et al for their work 'leading' this country, why are we also not chastising those that continue to give them money? Is the DLC part of the Democratic Establishment?
Is there an underlying tone by some of those in the dKos community that, when they say Democratic Establishment, they are talking about rank and file voters who have 'let' people like Reagan and Bush be elected? Or better yet, 'allowed' the Democratic party to put forth such candidates as Gore and Leiberman? There is definitely a sense of 'we can do better' here at Kos. Whether its in candidates, public policy, or in fundraising. Is this all a front for those that think, 'we're done listening to others say where we need to head, now it is our turn to tell YOU where this party needs to go and you better bring YOUR votes with you'. Is this the right way to go, the right attitude to take?
As much as I have been able to see in backtracking through old diaries and comments, so many people here were so completely sure that Dean would be the nominee in mid-December- as they say in sports, that's why they play the games- and completely took Sen. Kerry to task for a multitude of things. Some vowing here on this website, never to vote for him, while others tried to see if there was any way they could field a primary opponent against him. Will all those who wrote, spoke, or even thought those words back then, work as hard for Sen. Kerry in the next 89 days as you would have for Gov. Dean? If you're answer is nothing short of a resounding yes, and if, by some stroke of ill-fated luck we lose in November will you still blame the Democratic Establishment for not doing the correct things? Or will you blame them for not electing the candidate you originally supported in '04?
I'll turn it over for your consumption and commentary now...
Also, I'm new to this here blog thing, so if any of you know how to edit HTML and can give me some advice on my blog, it'd be much appreciated.
[Update]
Also, if anyone wants to sign up for a Yahoo! Daily Kos fantasy football league, the one I created has about 5 slots open.