I’ve actually enjoyed DKos for years. I registered in 2008, but read it for years before without registering. I’m a Sanders supporter, and I’m aware of the new rules about March 15. I’ve read the diaries about delegate counts, and “paths forward” and seen too many random Rox-Sux comments. Yes, it IS a hot mess, and if Markos wants to stop it, that’s his choice, and how he chooses to end it is also his choice. I hope we all agree we want a Democrat in the White House next January. Period, full-stop.
Having said that, I think the value of DKos lies in its traffic counts… The community involvement and the readership provides the value to the DKos brand. It seems to me that Bernie supporters have joined this site enthusiastically, because for the first time in a long time, there is a Presidential candidate speaking truth to power, and who has a history of backing up the talk, by walking the walk. WE NEED MORE, AND BETTER DEMOCRATS! Kos is right!
- DKos has long decried the outside influence of PACs and SuperPACs in our democratic system, right? Bernie Sanders—against ALL odds, is staying financially competitive w/o PAC funding. That, in itself is amazing. It is a funding model that will sustain Sanders through California. Alan Grayson is trying to ride the same model to a Senate nomination in Florida, and evidently he’s up by 11 against Patrick Murphy (who IMO is not a “better Democrat”). [I think a DKos search will confirm my assertion has been the general opinion about Patrick Murphy on this site].
- DKos has prided itself on being a Party-Building platform. “More and Better Democrats, not necessarily in that order” was the DKos FAQ in 2010. Below, I’m going to argue that Bernie’s candidacy is a route to “more and better Democrats”, and why Kos’ new censorship protocol is not the way to achieve it. Before I get to that, I need to call out some failures. We Dems (DWS?) have not driven our narrative. Or maybe we did.
- We ALL have to admit that the Republican Clown Car has sucked up much of the MSM oxygen—to no avail, I would add. IMO, Donald Trump looks like he’s got the clear path to victory. On the Democratic side, I think it’s fair to say that the MSM has coronated Hillary Clinton as the nominee. The Atlantic led me to this link and graphic. Sorry you can’t see the graphic, but the link ought to work. Basically, the left side is the D media; Hillary is blue. The right side is the R media; the Donald is blue. You can tell the R’s are pushing more buttons than the D’s are, for good reason. The MSM has been mostly Hillary, most all of the time. Now who watches TV these days? I’ll get back to that….
- Another data point: DecisionData.org—and I don’t know who they are, but they say “We compare home services so you can choose the best”—are using their analytic brains to compare and contrast web traffic v. TV mentions and their conclusions are interesting, and to my mind accurate.
- Again, you can’t read it, but the link ought to work. Their conclusion is that Bernie Sanders has been under-represented in MSM coverage—by a lot. I tend to think that’s correct, given what should ordinarily be an MSM staple, the rags-to-riches story, and from what I’ve seen on TV, that angle has no traction.
- Corey Robin at Jacobin wrote a nice article deconstructing some of the exit polls. I encourage you to read the whole article, but I’ll summarize as simply as I can. Massachusetts ain’t America, obviously, but there, Sanders won First-Time Voters with 71%; he won 65% of Independents; he wins under $50K and under $100K voters (and honestly, isn’t that our Party?); he won “very liberal” AND “moderate” voters; and he won unmarried women, who now outnumber married women. Read the whole thing.
Getting back to my thesis, we can see this election is going to be a “wave” election. EVERYBODY [R’s AND D’s] has had it up to HERE [please comment below with a story about how far we’ve drifted from our Democratic Party ideals].
Charlie Pierce had it right, way back when. “People got no money; people got no jobs. The wheels have fallen off the MSM narrative. The R’s have lost control of their Party; the D’s are doing their best to anoint their favorite candidate, even as the wheels are falling off the Democratic Bandwagon, IMO. That’s why I’m writing this post—I want more and better Democrats… Just like Kos!
The idea that a 3% guy from Vermont, using primarily “public” funding is running a credible campaign-a guy who can hang around to the end, and possibly “WIN” based on Internet funding is preposterous on it’s face. And yet, it’s true.
The idea that “You’re Fired” Donald Trump is a winning the Rs is also preposterous on it’s face. But it’s true and here we are.
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If we want more and better Democrats, then I’m thinking that cutting off debate on March 15 on DKos when half our party has yet to vote is a bad idea, both for this site, and for our Democratic Party, and for the idea of democracy itself.
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If we want more and better Democrats, I’m thinking that supporting the candidate that is totally energizing the young people is a good idea. And I’m mystified to read NOTHING here or locally about Voter Registration Drives from the Democratic Party. That always used to be a staple of our Democratic Party.
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If we want more and better Democrats, supporting the candidate that wins the households earning less than $100 K seems wise. That’s almost all of us. Independents included.
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If we want more and better Democrats, we have to recognize that we need to bring “Solutions” to the problems we have.
- Yes, Bernie Sanders is proposing “realistic” solutions:
- Most of the developed world does universal health care
- Some of the developed world does free university education
- An infuriatingly small portion of the developed world does financial regulation properly, and Sen. Sanders (and Sen. Elizabeth Warren) are right….
i know it’s hard for us Dem’s. We don’t run an “organized” Party. For sure. This year, we’ve got the “anointed candidate” (see above) versus the old Vermont Independent, who combs his hair with a balloon, but has been true for 40 years. the old guy invited people to join him. They did. In a big way; almost 5M individual contributions have been made as of tonight. How did that happen? Because the guy has been telling us the truth for 40 years as an Independent. Now he’s a Democrat; the story is still the same.
If you want “More and Better Democrats”, why wouldn’t you be for this guy?