I watched the O'Reilly hit job regarding Daily Kos and Jet Blue and I really feel something needs to be said from my side of aisle.
I cannot remember when I first signed up to become a member of Daily Kos but I have to admit my original intentions were not honorable. Honestly, I wanted to stir the pot. I wanted to entice users and get subtle comments in here and there and see what sort of responses I could generate.
Well, once I got bored with that I decided to start reading different diaries.
Now, before my fellow conservatives start accusing me of being a RINO I think it is important that you realize the following things about me (DK'ers might want to skip this part :))
- I voted for Bush and would do so again in a heartbeat.
- I listen to Rush Limbaugh every single day and if I have to miss a show I listen to it later using the Rush 24/7 member service.
- I cannot stand John McCain.
- Ann Coulter makes me smile and laugh.
- Olbermann might as well be a 4-letter word.
Ok, so now that is out of the way.
When I read DarkSyde's diary earlier entitled 'Welcome Fox Viewers' I have to admit that he did a great job of introducing what DK really and truly is. I have always taken an interest in DarkSyde's diaries because they have alot to do with science, are interesting and they make me think. DarkSyde, along with the majority of people who post here at DK do not spew hate. That is obvious by his diary that responds to O'Reilly's hit job.
What O'Reilly did was nothing exciting. It was nothing original. As a matter of fact, it was easy. O'Reilly could have done the same thing to any political-oriented web site that has a sponsor. He could have done this to freerepublic.com, hannity.com, littlegreenfootballs.com.com, and even humanevents.com.
I say this because I myself have seen user-made comments on the above sites that are hateful. I am not going to detail them out here but you know as well as I do that they exist and those comments do not represent the typical conservative.
O'Reilly singled out Daily Kos because this website has created a grassroots community that is constantly growing and their voice is being heard. Again, what O'Reilly did was easy and one of the reasons I like Rush Limbaugh so much is that he does not directly call for boycotts of certain products, communities, etc, etc. Sure, when he says 'Kook Left Wing Blogs' he is referring to DK but he does not go after their advertisers. He respects his position in the media to not do things like that and it offers him no challenge.
O'Reilly took a cheap shot that anyone in his position could have done without thinking too hard at all.
So, my fellow conservatives, I recommend that you read some of the recommended diaries here at DK and their respective comments. If you find a comment that you think is hateful then take a look at the ratings of that comment. If it really is a hateful comment then the honorable and respectful members of this community will have "troll-rated" that comment to Kingdom Come.
Also, send O'Reilly a message outlining how a 4 year old with a microphone could have easily done what he did to DK. Tell him to get back to the topics us conservatives really care about (like how in the world are we going to stop Hillary). Thanks for listening. DK'ers, best of luck at your convention and I am sorry for what O'Reilly attempted to do.
Shaun McDonnell
P.S. Oh, if anyone from freerepublic.com is reading this post, please look at how dailykos.com is programmed using Web 2.0 technology. I feel like I am stuck in the 80s whenever I goto freerepublic.com. Basically, dailykos.com kicks freerepublic.com's *ss when it comes to usability.