Wherein, Daily Kos Becomes Almost Irrelevant

Where's Markos Waldo?

One of the things that drew me to the blogosphere was the fact that nowhere in the traditional media did I hear much that I agreed with, especially in the run-up to the Iraq War.  I guess it started with the 2000 Election (fuzzy math/Gore's sighs), accelerated with the recount and then exploded with the manufactured war.  It's not that I'm a Super Genius, but I am not stupid and I am relatively well informed.  As I became a more experienced history teacher, I also learned more context for things that were happening around me (which is the point, after all, of studying history).

I think Eschaton was the first blog I visited and quickly moved from the Baby Blue Cherub to the Great Orange Satan.  It was at Kos that I first learned of the maxim "More and Better Democrats".  

The "More" part is pretty self-explanatory.  There is a fundamental calculation that Markos was making that you have to tolerate "ConservaDems" in conservative districts and states in order to get majorities in Congress.  This strategy bore fruit finally in the 2006 midterms.

The "Better" part was trying to force more progressive candidates on to bluer states and districts.  The best example of this has been the long and finally fruitful effort to kick Joe Lieberman into retirement.  Lieberman simply does not represent the Democratic party of Connecticut.  You need a better Democrat from Connecticut in order to balance out the more conservative/centrist members.

The "More Democrats" is why Daily Kos threw its support behind guys like Jon Tester in Montana and Mark Warner in Virginia.  And when Tester flirted with apostasy on the Obama jobs bill, the community at Daily Kos pretty much revolted.  Warner lost them years ago.  Same with Jim Webb.

Most of it is a combination memory loss/political ADHD, where they forget what life was like in Bush's America.  Some of it is the sanctimonious that often accompanies the Left.  There's a fair amount of not having a common enemy to focus on, too.

But it now seems like Daily Kos is abandoning the More Democrats for the Better Democrats.  That's fine, that's their right, and the site has been trending that way since the public option fight.  

But for the Democrats to retake the House, they need More Democrats.  Many of the Better Democrats are safe in their seats.  Some, like Alan Grayson, went too far, too fast with their constituencies, but most are ensconced in true blue districts.  Without widening the field to include the "More", having a rump of the "Better" is not helpful, especially in the House with its majoritarian rules and procedures.

I'm not sure where the "More" camp will migrate to.  But there needs to be a big institutional site for them/us.