How ironic that those of us who strongly support the president and those who are disgusted with him probably agree about goals on almost every issue that is discussed on DKos. The place where we clash is around strategy. But clash we do and we waste space and time fighting against people who we need to work with to realize a progressive future.
How does it further our goals to berate other DKos people for attacking/defending the president? It does not. In fact, it furthers the goals of those who want to divide us.
Here's a thought experiment: What if everyone who posts on this site decided to only comment about progressive goals and how to move them forward?
For instance, this morning there was a diary about the HuffPo article claiming that the Obama administration had given in to extending the tax cuts for the wealthy. Then there was one about how that was a false story. Both diaries contained comments berating the president or other DKos people. Net gain for progressives: 0.
Imagine instead that everyone on both diaries reaffirmed our goal (eliminating the tax cuts for the wealthy and maintaining them for the middle-class)and suggested ways to further our goals in every conceivable situation. What can we do if we HAVE the support of the administration, what can we do if we don't have that support?
We are living in very tricky political times. Because the media is mostly corporate-owned, it's hard to know what to believe. Because online media like DKos is mostly anonymous it's hard to know who is posting sincerely and who is here to disrupt. Because politicians are also mostly corporate-owned, it's hard to know where they really stand. But we do know what we believe in. Railing against the administration and/or against each other only furthers the goals of the right.
We have to be smarter than that. I plan to follow my own advice and try my best not to argue with DKos people over whether the Obama administration is good, bad, smart, stupid, effective or clumsy. My attention will be on what we want to make happen and the best way to do that - together. In fact, that may be a good intervention when a thread goes ugly. Ask: What is the goal here and what are some ways to move toward it?