Friends, Kossacks and Patriots....
I am officially taking a break.
And, yes, it does have something to do with what's been going down here....
and this passage from yesterday's Salon piece on Dean and the Dean movement:
Dean has tried to hold on to his base by painting Kerry, the man that the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action has given a lifetime rating of 93 percent, as a Republican. "It seems to be there's a little of George Bush in John Kerry," Dean told Salon recently. "George Bush says the most blatant things that are just plain false. No Child Left Behind leaves every child left behind -- something that Senator Kerry also voted for. How many rationales has George Bush given us for the Iraq war? Well, how many rationales has John Kerry given us for the Iraq war (which he also supported)? So I'm beginning to see a pattern. Maybe they shared a little more than just brotherhood at Skull and Bones, I don't know. I think that is not the kind of person the Democratic Party is going to win with. If you have a choice between Bush and Bush Lite why not go for Bush?" This message -- that Kerry's barely better than Bush -- is one that some of Dean's followers may be taking seriously, perhaps more than Dean intends.
As a Kerry advocate, lifelong Dem, and good faith participant here....
I just can't do this anymore.
Clearly, if Howard Dean is taking this line, there is little or no point coming here to dKos and earnestly engaging posts like this one from a long time participant here:
When I was in NH... (1.20 / 5)
...I always wanted to go to a Kerry event and ask him, point blank, "How many people did you kill in Vietnam?"
I figure if your going to make your soldiering a campaign centerpiece then you ought to at least give us a body count.
Joe Trippi was a Jedi.
or this one from another Kossack:
Blogosphere mimics real life. (none / 0)
Kerry's biggest asset is the firefighters, a macho bullying crew if ever there was one, and that's certainly reflected here.
Basically, permission has been given from the top that this kind of rhetoric is OK.
Personally, there is really not much more that I can say...I'm speechless and left feeling more angry and frustrated than anything else.
If it were back in my college days...I would invite you all...and I mean you all...to the local tavern for about fifteen pitchers and an all night debate session. No holds or rhetoric barred. I used to be good at that...and brought more than one zealot to see a little bit of the common sense in acknowledging:
basic decency and an emphasis on shared values.
But I'm not a student anymore...and my attempts to do this on dKos are going nowhere.
Politically, as a basically "positive Dem" and a Kerry advocate there is really no reason to engage here until the Dean movement and it's followers make up their mind about how they want to respond to this moment.
I've said most of what I can in a positive manner about John Kerry and Howard Dean...
and engaging this wave of venom and innuendo is just spinning my wheels. Further, politically, there's just much better ways to spend one's time.
So, with a sincere "see ya later" and a wish that the dialog here be productive...
peaceout
kid oakland