I never had a GBCW moment or diary, but for much of the last couple of years, I've been more lurker than active member of the site. A few things lead me to return to being more active.
DK4
The 2010 election fiasco
Republicans' insane version of governing in DC and around the country
Rupert Murdoch's media empire and irrational manipulation of American political knowledge & discourse
The opportunities in DK4 to create new communities and increase community interaction are very exciting to me. I've got a few ideas I'd like to explore that I think can amount to more than just mental masturbation thanks to the house that Markos built. I'm a massage therapist who on occasion will engage in what might be considered unusual political discussion with my clients. During one appointment, a client and I spent over 40 minutes developing a campaign finance reform proposal in the wake of the Citizens United decision. It was a fascinating discussion, but honestly, is not likely to go anywhere. With new groups, messaging, more ways to find diaries, and the potential for diaries to have traction longer than 20 minutes on one day, I think I will personally be able to hone my own political thoughts better by virtue of being able to build deeper connections with folks who I'm not likely to agree with on every detail, but who are passionate about engaging ideas on a meaningful level.
One of the primary goals of Daily Kos has been to elect more and better Democrats. That worked reasonably well for us in 2006 and 2008, but we lost huge last November, not just in the House, but also in state government across the country. I think the goal should have a corollary: elect fewer, but better (meaning more sane and responsible) Republicans. Under the prior version of Daily Kos, I don't think there was room to fit such a corollary, but in this new version, perhaps.
Without going into any great detail, I am appalled by the agenda and actions of conservatives in Washington, in Wisconsin, in Florida, in New Jersey, in Maine, in Kansas, in Texas. Bobby Jindal in Louisiana is a sick joke. Haley Barbour of Mississippi a scary prospect for white-washing a racist past, minimizing the struggles for civil rights, and allowing discrimination to rise under a pleasant rewriting-of-history face. The warping of our political dialogue, disdain for actual governing, and attacks on our social safety nets and institutions that have built up and defend the middle class call for action.
Further on the topic of the warping of our political dialogue, our media culture has been vulnerable to the GOP propaganda of Rupert Murdoch's and Roger Ailes' media empire as well as the beltway media culture. I think push-back has been growing, but more needs to be done. I suppose there has been a fringe in every political culture that has ever existed. But rarely does the fringe have such power to distort political thought and what information is available to the general public.
So I hope to return to being an active member of the Daily Kos community. Soon, I'll be writing a diary on a project I'd like some help with. Hopefully it will give me an opportunity to engage more of you, and for some in the San Francisco area, perhaps meet in person for some lively political discussion. I may dust off some ideas that never quite made it to full diaries in the previous version of Daily Kos, but may have new life on DK4. With the new format, I also look forward to the possibility of exploring a non-political interest or two.
I look forward to the opportunities to present my own thoughts on DK4 as well as finding more people with whom to engage than I did on the prior version of Daily Kos. Thanks to Markos and the development team for the vision they've offered and the work they've done to allow the rest of us a chance to participate.