A lot of people I like and care about are hurt. I think a sense of betrayal is at the heart of what they are feeling. And, truth be told, some of what they feel is reasonable. Not right, but reasonable.
As many of you know, I've been a kossack for a while, like to think I had a role, and I think mostly a good one, in what the site was and is. And let me tell you what that has always made me feel - gratitude for the chance. Unlike some, I'm not one who thinks Markos owes me a thing. It is I who will remain in his debt. Do you remember 2002? 2003? Do you remember what was said and who was saying it? And can you not see the change today? A lot of people were responsible for that change. But to say that Markos was not among the most responsible is to not be fair. More.
I am good friends with Maryscott O'Connor. I think she is a terrific person and a magnetic blogger. She is loyal. She has been to me repeatedly. She has been loyal to Daily Kos. Whether she is right or wrong on a particular issue, I would never question her heart. Her judgment, like everyone's, is of course subject to question.
I am good friends with Booman. He is a terrific person and an important part of the Left Blogs.
I am good friends with Ed Kilgore, formerly of the DLC. He is a terrific person and a great writer and analyst. He is an an essential bridge inside of our Big Tent.
I think the world of Chris Bowers, Matt Stoller and Jonathan Singer. MYDD is must reading for anyone interested in politics.
I think Digby is the greatest blogger alive.
I think Glenn Greenwald has transformed political discussion of legal issues. He'll be the first blogger to break through to MSM status imo.
I have harshly criticized each and everyone of these people at one time or other for things they have written or done. Never have I questioned their good faith, their value, their commitment or their integrity. Because those things are not questionable in these folks.
In the past years, no one from the Blogosphere has been more unfairly smeared in the blogs and the Media than Markos. From the NYTimes to The Weekly Standard to Zephyr to Zengerle to Neil the Ethical Werewolf to Amanda Marcotte and many others, attacks on Markos' character have flown with impunity. And each and every one was false. Every single one.
I am no longer an Admin nor a FPer so I do not take it as a special responsibility to defend Markos or Daily Kos anymore. I add my two cents where I think it adds to the discussion. But this comment, from a dear friend of mine, at My Left Wing, leaves me unable to stand silent:
The dishonesty of Markos
I should put in a disclaimer here, I have an extreme bias against Markos. I've said it for a year and a half, he is dangerous to the real true liberal movement. People powered is hogwash the way Markos applies it, he is as dangerous to those of us who are true liberals as he is politically ignorant, the opposite of politically savvy and the goddamned 'vision' of having a fuckingass 'big tent' party.
He once said if the Democratic Party is the party of choice (abortion) he will find another party. His blanket support of Bob Casey Jr. is only one highlight of his desire to see choice removed as a principle of this party. How long has he been politically minded, since 2000.
And how politically unsavvy is he? Enough so to insult women, enough so to insult 'hippies', enough so to insult 'baby boomers,' enough so to insult Garrison Keiller. He longs to build a movement, and pretends that he has, and he's fuckingass stupid enough to dismiss those of us who are the fuckingass backbone of the Democratic Party, the very party he thinks he's instrumental in showing the fuckingass way, the only way, the only real, true way.
If he's so goddamned proud of the movement he's creating why can't he tell the fuckingass truth instead of using, for his own advantage, the mantle that he and his blog are liberals, left-leaning and progressive? If he's so fuckingass proud why doesn't he stop telling the media it's a liberal site, why doesn't he correct them when they call him a liberal and his site liberal?
The dishonesty of Markos makes him and his site fuckingass dangerous to all true liberal, progressive, left-leaning people and voters.
He's built a site on the backs of true liberals, it's a fuckingass sham.
My dear friend Caliberal, putting aside the merits or demerits of your views, to call Markos dishonest is absolutely hogwash. He has never called himself a liberal. Indeed, he has spent a good deal of time trying to invent a new brand, Libertarian Dem (the merits of that mantle is another story).
When has he called his site liberal? When has he not said it is a partisan Dem site? Let me remind you what kos has always said:
What is the purpose of this site?
(Condensed from this diary written by kos in late 2004)
This is a Democratic blog, a partisan blog. One that recognizes that Democrats run from left to right on the ideological spectrum, and yet we're all still in this fight together. We happily embrace centrists like NDN's Simon Rosenberg and Howard Dean, conservatives like Martin Frost and Brad Carson, and liberals like John Kerry and Barack Obama. Liberal? Yeah, we're around here and we're proud. But it's not a liberal blog. It's a Democratic blog with one goal in mind: electoral victory. And since we haven't gotten any of that from the current crew, we're one more thing: a reform blog. The battle for the party is not an ideological battle. It's one between establishment and anti-establishment factions. And as I've said a million times, the status quo is untenable.
I'm sorry that you do not like what Markos has decided his blog will be about but it is dishonest of YOU to misstate what Markos has said. You are better than this Caliberal.
Moreover, it is a slap in the face to those liberal voices that Markos has supported and published. People like Billmon, Steve Gilliard, Steve Soto, Kid Oakland, Hunter, Plutonium Page, SusanG, Georgia10, mcjoan, A Gilas Girl, Devil's Tower, BarbinMD and Meteor Blades.
Markos has`included other voices that you may not think of as liberal, but that are no less powerful. Trapper John, DHinMi, DemfromCT, DavidinNYC, MissLaura and DarkSyde.
You are a dear friend Caliberal and you have a good heart. But your emotions and your admirable loyalty to MSOC have led you to folly and foulness. Markos is not what you say. On the third anniversary of this essential blog, I wrote this about Markos:
Yesterday was the third anniversary of the creation of dailykos by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga. What dailykos has become is apparent to all, including Democrats in Washington, D.C. And make no mistake, while the community and the guest bloggers have been an integral part of dailykos, this achievement belongs to him - his vision, commitment, writing, principles and character.
I have had the pleasure of reading and participating at dailykos for close to 2 years. But I have gotten to know Markos better in the last year or so. I met with him in Puerto Rico and also in Berkeley. Much e-mail has been exchanged. This is what I discovered:
Markos is remarkably modest. Of course, all humans possess egos, some us bigger ones than others (no snickers please). But for a guy who runs the most trafficked political blog (and by a multiple of 3), Markos is not only modest, but willing and eager to listen to other viewpoints.
Don't get me wrong. Markos has some very firm views. He is wrong in some of them in my opinion. I'll be writing about one later tonight - his view that we can metamorphize the choice issue into the broader privacy issue. He makes mistakes. He is sometimes not careful in his language. (Look who's talking right?) But he is mostly right. An astute observer. Tremendous in understanding the big picture of politics.
He is loyal. To his principles. His Party. Our Party. The Democratic Party. A lot of folks, good folks, think maybe too loyal. I don't. But then I too am a fierce partisan Dem. He is also loyal to his colleagues and his guest bloggers. I know from personal experience. I am a controversial figure, sometimes writing inflammatory stuff. Sometimes crossing the line. Markos lets me know when I've gone too far. But he has stood by me. Even when sometimes I know it would be a lot easier for him to not stand by me. Loyalty.
Markos is open to discussion and disagreement. He lets all have a voice. I and many Guest Bloggers have written posts that are completely contradictory to his views. There is no better example than the 2003 primaries when Markos was a Dean supporter and had as Guest bloggers a Gephardt supporter and a Clark supporter and a Kerry supporter. Which of course made the charges of Dean having bought dailykos so obviously false.
Markos is the magic here. Yes the Community is the heart. But Markos created the space, created the conditions and created the spark that has made dailykos what it is today.
Sacrifice must surely have been demanded of him to do this. Vitriol and personal attacks against him are now a routine part of his life. Sure, it is a sacrifice that he no doubt sees as a small price to pay, but he paid it before he knew what he could achieve.
This may read like a hagiography and it is true that I focus on the good Markos has done. But, this is a time of celebration. Of 3 big years. Of achievement. And of looking forward to bigger and better things.
So lift your virtual glass, a toast to Markos.
I still believe this. And regarding Markos' character, so should you.