Damn, I love DailyKos diaries. Writers here are some of the best-informed, wittiest and most well-spoken commentators in the United States today. Whether you seek clarification on health care policy, a lesson on the history of fireworks or tips on how to prepare quince, this is the place.
But we've got to cut it out.
A brief amble around the webbertubes this morning shows me that those who wish to derail health care reform and "break" our president are out in force, in every venue they're allowed to post. Some of them can even write.
Check out the comments to Timothy Egan's op-ed drop yesterday, Palin's Poison, in the NY Times. Out of nine comments to the piece, five are anti-reform, anti-Obama. And, though there are a few talking-pointish similarities ("actually read the bill"), they are not the raving rants of middle school dropouts.
The same level of calm, literate commentary is starting to appear on other sites that allow reader comments. Caps are unlocking. Exclamations are less pointed. Hell, even La Sarah herself, Queen of the Death Panels, approaches readability and rationality on her Facebook page as she tells the baggers to ice down their tea and concentrate on message:
"Such tactics diminish our nation’s civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters’ passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying. Let’s not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us."
Not being in Memo of the Week Club, I don't know if this sudden explosion of non-explosiveness is directed by the likes of Dick Armey and Bob McDuffie, but it's a reasonable bet. Sarah Palin is not the type to go on the rails without a little outside help.
If our opponents, stung by reports of their irrational, borderline violent antics in outlets even they consider marginally respectable, have encouraged their more eloquent, cool-headed fellow travelers to man the front counter so as not to scare off customers, we advocates of real reform with a strong public component should do the same.
And I can think of fewer people more eloquent--and cool--that the writers here.
So, today, rather than punching every interesting orange link that pops up here to be the first pithy responder (yeah, yeah, I know I'm describing my own behavior more than yours), let's look around some other places and see what their visitors are saying. Should you do so and find an unusually calm, even sensible tone among our opponents, as well as an unexpectedly large number of them, perhaps you could take a moment to spread a bit of that brilliance of yours in less fortunate, less orange, corners of our world.
See you in the tubes.