So, WOW, what a day yesterday was here on the big Orange. Lots of emotions, lots of ideas, lots of time and energy put into researching, thinking and writing about the hopes, frustrations and concerns of the incoming administration.
For a while now, I've been dropping a comment in here and there about the process that I see as growing pains in the netroots, and nothing illustrated that more to me than the events of yesterday.
The growth of political commentary, and activism on the 'net has not happened in a vacuum, but in a supercharged political atmosphere where the left has been the oppositional party. Follow me, please.
The coinciding events of the evolution of the political left's netroots with the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, has made sites like dkos evolve in an "oppositional" position.
The question is, how do we go about the next evolutionary phase and transform the netroots from the perpetual campaign against something and into a cohesive force that can have a stake in the governance of our country?
What I saw here yesterday was, to me, nothing more than a definition of the quandry. The opposing positions of "Obama must not be criticized" and "I hate him before he's even sworn in despite the fact I worked my ass off to elect him" and every flavor in between those opposing viewpoints was demonstrated in the thousands of angry, witty, constructive and informative comments that were made in a multitude of diaries.
So how do we channel that energy? Think of the many hours, many ideas, many voices that went into yesterday's debates. We are never going to have a single viewpoint with so many differing opinions, but certainly we could all agree on a single direction that those opinions could take us and maybe we could find some methods that work for the causes that are most important to us. Let's take a portion of that energy and harness it!
I'm looking for constructive ideas. How do we take the debate to the next level and ACT on it? Think back to the weeks preelection, every time someone was having a "chicken little" moment, someone else stepped in and said, "go volunteer" or "donate" to make it happen.
So, we have a wealth of experience and knowledge in the Kossack community. Let's think of ways to organize for something more....and channel some of our energy into making it happen.
--obviously, contact your state and local representatives with your opinions on current issues. Can you take it to the next level and help them organize a town hall or a community forum? Could you get this word out to other Kossacks who live in your same district or region?
--could we figure out a way to turn informative diaries into petitions that could be sent to various representatives, agencies, or individuals? There were great issues raised that could be sent to Salazar and Vilsack and the other cabinet members. If we did it en masse or as a petition, would our voice be stronger than just making a comment in a diary on dkos?
--can we reach the media in any meaningful way beyond hoping that Keith O stops by from time to time? they obviously monitor sites like this, because we keep turning up as the "left" that is disappointed in Obama's picks. Surely we could find a way to make this be more about the issues that we want than just the idea that we are a whiney constituency.
--can we get more elected officials to be involved here to hear and maybe participate in our debates? Governor Paterson has been here from time to time. Do you think there would be a way to reach him with our debate on the Caroline Kennedy nomination, so he hears what we see as pros and cons?
It just seems that a lot of people are putting a lot of time and energy into debating each other here, and I'd like to find a way to channel at least a portion of that energy into bigger and better things. Not that the debate isn't good, but in and of itself, it doesn't accomplish anything. Now that we are to be the party in governance, can we find a way to actually accomplish something with the power of the netroots?
The quality of the research and writing that goes into so many diaries is top-notch. How can we get that information distributed to a wider audience?
Please add to my list of ideas!