I've been around on DKos, sometimes more frequently and sometimes less frequently, for about two years and change. During this time, even if I occasionally disagree with positions commonly held by the DKos community, I have remained steadfast in my respect for Markos Moulitsas and his wildly-successful effort to build an online community for progressives and liberals of all stripes.
That respect has just taken a hit with Kos' announcement of Operation Hilarity, an operation designed to false-front the GOP into either nominating former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) for the Presidency, or at least to drag out the Republican primaries to such an extent as to damage the other potential nominee, former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA). This operation is bad, unnecessary and generally harmful to progressives and Democrats, for reasons I will discuss below the fold:
Of the reasons why Operation: Hilarity is a bad idea, these are the ones that I find the most pointed:
(1) It's the wrong thing to do.
While I certainly understand the adage "Turnabout is fair play", progressives are supposed to be better - better people, better policymakers and better leaders - than conservatives. Undertaking such an operaton - which even the noted liberal pundit Rachel Maddow has discussed (1:45 onwards) in not-entirely-kind terms on her evening show - simply drags our own morals and ethics down to the levels endorsed by Rush Limbaugh, who embraced much the same approach to the 2008 Democratic primaries.
Am I endorsing the idea of sitting around and doing nothing? Absolutely not - but this is not the right answer. If you want Rick Santorum to win, so that he will be the weaker general election candidate, then run ads - radio, TV and Internet - against Mitt Romney, pointing out his less-than-sterling record, his flip-flops, etc. etc.
Becoming as morally-turpitudinous as your opponents is a Bad Idea.
(2) It validates right-wing conspiracy theories.
By embarking on a political operation that can reasonably be described as a conspiracy against the Republican Party, Operation: Hilarity is essentially validating all the right-wing whackjob conspiracies that the right-wing whackjobs can come up with, by showing them a conspiracy.
When your nutjob enemies are espousing conspiracy theories, validating them by publicly calling for people to conspire against them is a Bad Idea.
(3) It runs a grave risk of President Santorum.
Let's face it - the GOP money-men may prefer Mitt Romney to Rick Santorum, but if Santorum wins the nomination, they'll throw their support fully behind him in the general election - unless he burns all of his bridges with them, which won't happen.
Consider the implications of this: the ultimate result of a successful Operation: Hilarity could be a nominee Rick Santorum with tons of money and plenty of momentum, from having defeated the "inevitable" nominee. Also a really bad idea, as it may actually increase the chances of Obama losing in November. I'm no fan of Obama's, but I will readily concede that out of the three realistic possibilities for President 2013-2017 (Obama, Romney and Santorum), Obama is by far the least bad. But Santorum is easily the worst.
Deliberately courting the risk of the absolute worst possible Preisdential candidate winning the White House is a Bad Idea.
(4) It ignores history.
When Rush Limbaugh called for Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in the open Democratic primaries circa 2008, he did so on much the same theory that Kos is calling for Democrats to do the reverse now. That theory is that the eventual nominee will be bruised, bloodied and weakened in the general election.
But it didn't work that way in 2008. Nearly all Democrats wanted a Democratic White House more than they wanted their preferred Democrat to win it. After the primaries concluded with the victory of then-Sen. Barack Obama, most of then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's supporters rallied behind the victorious Obama campaign, and Democrats generally were energised and feeling pugnacious. Not all, by any means - but most. Why?
Because the Democrats were united in their disdain for the Republican candidate (Sen. John McCain, R-AZ), they were well aware that 2008 was a "now-or-never" election, and Obama spoke elqouently to the party faithful's priorities and needs.
And now, the Republicans are united in their disdain for President Obama, they are well aware that 2012 is a "now or never" election for them (if they lose in 2012, when all the stars are aligned for them, they'll continue to lose for a generation or more), and nominee Santorum can speak eloquently to the party faithful's priorities and needs.
Ignoring history is a Bad Idea.
(5) It's unnecessary.
Bluntly put, it's unnecessary - Mitt Romney is doing just fine at trashing his own image among voters with his constant negativity and "rich, out-of-touch white guy" attitude, and Rick Santorum will follow soon enough, once he's speaking to anyone but the GOP base about his extreme right-wing social views. The nominating contest already looks to go on for quite some time - especially given the lead Santorum's taking in Michigan, as well as the news that the Maine caucuses were probably rigged for Romney by the Maine GOP.
Interfering in a situation that requires no interference - especially in a fashion prone to counterproductivity - is a Bad Idea.
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I support Daily Kos - I purchased a lifetime membership not long before Kos stopped offering them, and I fully support DKos' progressive mission of electing more and better Democrats to every office in the country, whether over the short term or the long term (See: my two most recent diaries for examples of some things I have suggested). I may disagree with Kossacks over what constitutes a "Better Democrat", but even those are usually civil disagreements. But Operation: Hilarity is a bad idea. An ethically, morally and practically bad idea. It is a bad idea on just about any level I can think of, and even suggesting it has given the conservative movement a huge boost, if they're smart enough to see it and play the victim card (which comes naturally to conservatives).
I urge anyone who reads this to consider my arguments - the four major reasons why Operation: Hilarity is a bad idea - and to critique them, pass them on (if in agreement) or generally make their opinions known.
Kos, I am your supporter, but I cannot and will not follow you into the moral, practical and ethical disaster that Operation: Hilarity would become.