Tomorrow, I want to offer some counterpoint to Hunter's recent diary The Political "Me" Movement: A Piefight In D-Minor which begins "In which I insult libertarians and libertarianism for no good reason...". And he lived up to summary with all the subtlety of "The Empire Strikes Back".
But today I want to discuss one response to my previous diary (Socialism fading, Libertarianism rising) that I suppose in the mind of the writer was meant to create a chilling effect on my participation here at DKos.
You have been warned (3+ / 0-)
Recommended by:
Ahianne, Bouwerie Boy, trashablanca
about this so many times I lost count.
I will now TR every comment you make--in every thread. I hope others join me until you are not able to post any more at all. (This is in the FAQ by the way, so I am sure you have read up on it.) Very, very few people have hit my TR-at-will list. Enjoy.
If you just posted comments that were constructive, I wouldn't bother but you are not here to be a contributing member. You have been told to take this elsewhere by administrators and multiple users across multiple diaries and multiple comments.
I put this here because you can still read it. But I will come back later to rate it.
Don't make me use my "special nerd powers" on you.
by SeattleLiberal on Sat Jul 21, 2007 at 06:37:36 PM PDT
This is really humorous stuff to say the least, but I would love for any person agreeing with that quote to find one thing I have written in that thread (or anywhere here) that was so foul or offensive that it would call for these self-identified stalkers to chase every comment I write with TRs in an attempt to delete my account.
But more, no administrator has told me to "take this elsewhere", and Kos has actively invited (The Case for the Libertarian Democrat) supporters of the Cato Institute to come here and join in discussion.
I mean look at this threat closely:
I will now TR every comment you make--in every thread. I hope others join me until you are not able to post any more at all.
How is that anything different from McCarthy-style blacklisting? I think ending my diary entries with "Good luck and good night" is entirely fitting in such a context.
If you look at my previous diary, you will see many completely unoffensive comments I had written TR'd. The only recourse for such a thing is to not post comments, as it is obvious that individuals that commit such reprehensible behavior have absolutely no interest in debate or discussion. They are more committed to witch hunts and Democratic Purity tests.
I do hope this is the line of reasoning Kos was addressing in his recent diary "With us or against us". But if it isn't, it would be nice to know as well.
Is it my support for Ron Paul, who is by every definition available "Republican in name only", absolutely opposed to the modern Republican Party, and harks back to the minimal government Democratic-Republican Party of Jefferson and Madison?
And that's for one race, for a primary, not even a general election (unless he decides to run third party after the primary), that I am supporting a libertarian candidate. There are plenty of other races I will vote on next November, and in all likelihood I would vote Democratic on those.
But I don't pretend for a second that any of these largely progressive/socialist Dems actually represent me, and I want to see people elected who are going to stand up against establishment politics using libertarianism and the Constitution as their guide.
I am going to continue to fight for libertarianism within the Democratic Party, something I've written about multiple times. I am going to continue to support candidates of any party that share the philosophy of liberty. And I'm going to continue to discuss libertarianism here because it is a valid approach towards reform in today's absolutely corrupt two-party political climate.
I'm sure that's an offensive thought, after all, the Democratic Party has just been given the ball, so why can't the most politically extreme elements of the party (the most liberal/progressive/socialist) run with it without any dissent on this site which so many of those who oppose anything I write state "This site was created to elect Democrats" with the intonation implying "existing, establishment Democrats".
The fact is that the corrupt, establishment democrats of old do need to be replaced, but I am not keen on seeing extremist liberals take their place... I'm much more interested in seeing Libertarian Democrats reshape the party so we can end his cycle of corruption.
And the idea that anyone thinks their threats have any capacity to keep me from pursuing that goal is both comical and shameful.
I will continue to advocate for Paul here, as he is the first public step towards libertarianism as a potential political philosophy for both parties, as his run should and will inspire many libertarian-minded individuals to run as Democrats and Republicans.
I think that is very important as we try to get away from establishment politics, and truly crash the gate. It's also important because it should push liberals to start defining liberalism with practical principles instead of letting it be decided by the momentary emotional impulses of that day that every establishment plays on as if they were simply striking a chord on a piano, with no real guide to policy, but a guide to re-election and their representation to their special interests.
Update: Some have said that an administrator of the site has said that discussion of Ron Paul isn't allowed here. Which administrator, and was that publicly approved by Markos? I haven't been "warned" by anyone other than users with an ax to grind, so please do direct me to that admin's post.