As a long-time dailykos reader and subscriber, I've witnessed a disturbing trend that has me increasingly convinced why the Democrats (and the Left at large) have such a hard time winning elections: We can't stop attacking our own.
Most of the diaries and debates on this site are great, and most of the arguments are well-thought-out. But increasingly I've detected a mean-spirited, nasty streak to the posters, much of it directed at Democrats and liberals. I often cringe at the personal attacks on people like John Kerry, Harry Reid and other Dem leaders who, while flawed, don't deserve the kind of vitriole expressed here -- the kind that should be directed at the GOPs and this frightening administration, and the kind that only gives the Wingnuts more ammunition for their claims that the Left is in disarray.
What prompted me to write this diary, though, was Wednesday's thread regarding Nancy Pelosi that contained language that I simply couldn't believe came from "our" side. More on the flip....
There is a valid debate to be had over whether Pelosi should have publicly attacked the FBI's invasion of Rep. Jefferson's Capitol Hill office. (Personally I have mixed view -- She was right in calling the administration on a blatant abuse of power, but I wish she hadn't done it in a joint appearance with Hastert). And that debate was going along fine, with constructive criticism and thouthful argument, until it deteriorated into a name-calling hatefest aimed at our own leaders. Here are just a few of the quotes to which I refer:
She sucks fucking crap.
She's too goddam willfully blind to run a one hole extension on a two hole outhouse, much less the minority party in the House.
Can we please dump Pelosi in the river alongside the rest of the Republican trash? The woman is a worthless sack of shit.
Thanks, Nancy, you dumbass.
Get Pelosi out of here. Now.
And perhaps the least constructive of all:
Is there really anyone out there who still thinks the Dems won't blow it come November?
Even with the deep divisions in the GOP right now, I can't imagine the wingnuts engaging in this kind of language on an open blog. So why should we? Look I'm all for free speech and for holding our leaders accountable, but these lines of attack do nothing to help the Left's cause, they demoralize us at a time when we need to be energized, and they give the Right more ammunition we don't want them to have.
I know I may be assailed for trying to squelch debate on this blog, which is the last thing I wanna do. All I'd like to see is a little more constructive discussion and a little less "eating our young."
