Last fall, several others and I criticized Daily Kos for running ads from Chevron for an "Astroturf" campaign opposing a California initiative to combat climate change. Every environmentalist in the country strongly supported the California initiative, but it failed, in part due to the opposition from oil giants.
After DK chose not to remove the ads, I wrote a pissy diary announcing that I was quitting the site, and I did. For 6 months, I refrained from reading the site, posting comments and writing diaries.
My purpose today isn’t to rehash all that, which is in the old diaries. Good times.
My purpose today is to say...I’m back! (Actually, I came back in March, but then left again.) The point is...I’m back, again! Can I hear a "Wahoo!"? Nothing but crickets? OK.
I know ZERO of you even knew that I was gone (a tear), but I still want to explain why I’m returning, because I think my reason is relevant to more people than just me.
Simply stated, Daily Kos is the most important thing to happen to progressive politics in our country in a generation. Its benefits far outweigh its flaws. And everyone needs to support it. Including advertisers.
If anyone (whether it be me or someone who disagrees with me) wants to try and make the Daily Kos website (nay, community) (nay, movement) better, all of us should welcome that process. Constant change in pursuit of improvement is one of the fundamental things (maybe THE fundamental thing) that separates "progressives" from "reactionaries".
In the meanwhile, however, there is a MASSIVE amount of positive change that all of us can achieve together at Daily Kos right now.
And I want to be part of it.
I want to be a part of ending the war in Iraq.
I want to be a part of extending high quality education and health care to everyone.
I want to be a part of guaranteeing universal voting rights and making elections fair.
I want to be a part of ending graft and corruption.
I want to be a part of reaching out to fellow citizens who happen to be Republican, who think we are their enemies, and finding ways to live and work together.
I want to be part of a citizen movement that values facts above ideology.
I want to be part of a citizen movement that values justice above cronyism.
I want to be part of a citizen movement that values love and truth above hate and lies.
I want to be part of Daily Kos.
And I want all of my fellow citizens to join me.
Black, brown, yellow, green, white.
Rich, poor, "Mortgaged up to my ears but still pretending to be middle class."
Gay, straight, none of the above.
Atheist, Catholic, Muslim, Protestant (main-line, evangelical, or whatever), Jewish, Hindu, American Indian, Buddhist, agnostic.
Smart. Frankly, not the sharpest tack in the box.
Educated. Smart but couldn’t afford to attend college.
Drive a Volvo. Drive a pickup. "People who drive are killing the planet."
"I spend $50 a week at Starbucks." "Anyone who spends $5 for a cup of coffee is an idiot."
Yankee. California Hippie. Schwarzenegger Republican. Texan. Midwesterner. Actual westerner. "My cousin lives in New York or Tennessee or one of those northern states."
You get the idea.
Our greatest strength lies in the combination of our diversity and our commitment to find common ground.
With regard to my reasons for becoming so upset with the ads from Chevron that DK accepted last year, I still say that DK should strive to attract advertisers who support the kind of world we’re building. This is especially true when the ads in question are political in nature and coming from powerful interests. With that in mind, however, may I suggest the following this time:
Hey advertisers: you need to be here.
Hey national advertisers, bring Kos your advertising dollars. Daily Kos is one of the most heavily trafficked websites in the world, let alone among political and news outlets. We represent a potent combination of diverse demographics with common interests. If you’re not buying ads here, you’re crazy.
BTW national advertisers, are you afraid of being "Jet Blue'd" by O’Reilly for supporting DK? You should consider the high proportion of east- and west-coast DK community members who used to fly Jet Blue but do so no longer. And you should consider that O’Reilly is "sooooo 2003" while Daily Kos is "sooooo now and the future."
Hey political campaigns, if you’re not advertising here, you’re crazy.
Hey media outlets like NYT Select and WSJ.com, Daily Kos sends you many thousands of clicks everyday by people who want to read what you write. If you’re not advertising on DK, you’re crazy.
Hey so-called leading progressive companies. Where are you? We need you. And we want you. If you’re not advertising here, you’re crazy.
Finally, hey Daily Kos readers: see all those ads on the site? Click them. Now. Learn about the companies that are giving their ad money to Kos. If you don’t like them, yes, complain. But if you do like them, and you like what the companies are selling, buy some.