Dear Kos...
You wrote something earlier this week or maybe late last week. You urged Dems not to forget the "freaking base."
Perhaps it'd be a good idea for Daily Kos to get reacquainted with "the base"....
I think a lot of us in "the base" have not changed. What has changed, and become almost unrecognizable, is the Democratic Party..
I'm pfiore8. I now live in The Netherlands. I used to be an East Coast Liberal Dem. I was a member of my county's Dem committee, and participated as a campaigner, candidate, and fund raiser. I also campaigned for Al Gore and John Kerry and, in fact, canvassed in 2004 with DFA.
Before becoming active, I was an avid cocktail party political conversationalist. It was a fun exercise... talking about saving the world and us from ourselves. I never understood the importance of being plugged in to the political process until... ta dah... George Washington came into my life via some biographies. President Washington's greatness got me in my heart and head and I embraced the idea of citizenship.
It wasn't long after that another George came into my life. It was Nov 2000. We were celebrating the idea of a President Gore and our own near-victory locally in a township controlled by Republicans for 25 years. While we didn't win, we understood that we didn't exactly lose... we had gotten our message out there and were only a few votes shy of being elected. In fact, the next cycle, we Dems won two seats on the council.
But back to the VFW post bar in Nov 2000... from what I remember it was around 8:30ish when Dan Rather, shocked, announced that Bush and NOT Gore had won in Florida. We didn't truly comprehend it then, but our lives would forever change. I know mine has been upended with a restlessness I have not been able to overcome. It's been a decade of sleep without rest, Kos.
Anyway. Around 2004, I stumbled onto Daily Kos and was a lurker and finally signed up sometime in 2006. I thought this was a truly important place: the new town square where people, politics, and policy could converge... a vehicle to inform the electorate. I thought we could really become movers and shakers of the process here. I thought most people here could see beyond ideology and understand common good.
But a funny thing happened. Dems regained control after the 2006 elections and it slowly started to become clear that those professional Dem politicians ... were not much different than the ousted Republicans.
I think a lot of "the base" started to question exactly why impeachment was off the table. We wanted to know why the Dems continued to vote BushCO all it wanted. We wanted to know what happened to the idea of accountability.
Yeah. I'm part of "the base" that's been pushed aside by the sheer force of epically bad decision making. I think it is ridiculous to support a political party and moan about that party losing... when the only losers I can see are the citizens of my country. Not to mention the decline of my country.
And it's clear, Kos. Republicans did not bring us here alone. Democrats in powerful positions, like Rahm and Schumer, have brought us here and are equally responsible.
Yeah. I'm part of "the base" of citizens who want to pursue a platform once espoused by Democratic politicians.
I want accountability. None of this silliness in policy making, health care reform included, means squat. Not when the criminals are allowed to control the country and taxes and get at my social security.
I am moved to write this because another blogger made this very interesting observation. Perhaps it will shake things up and get some rethinking about the potential of this place:
I am now totally convinced (no proof, just gut feeling) that Kos has been intentionally infiltrated by operatives from both the left and right of the political spectrum, intent on damping down the political influence that it potentially wields.
It'd be nice if dKos had room for "the base" once again, leaving the over-the-top headlines and hyperbole to others. Open up the conversation and encourage thinking differently about issues... and even consider advocating voting outside conventional Democratic circles. You see what's happening with the base... for us, it is becoming less and less about electing Democrats and more about organizing some way to stop this runaway train amongst ourselves.
Sincerely... pfiore8, still a member of "the base"