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Mar
16
I’m tired of hearing myself say, I don’t read the big box blogs, but I don’t. So it’s been through posts like this one by Tom Watson that I’ve been following how some progressive bloggers have said enough is enough when it comes to beating up on bloggers who aren’t whole hog for Barack Obama.
From Watson:
There’s a real split among party activists, and it’s getting wider. Some of it is motivated by the media’s love affair with one candidate – and hatred for the other; Keith Olbermann’s embarassment drove many over the edge. But much of it comes from boorish, Stalinist behavior online – the kind of “you’re either with us or against us” attitude we saw so much of when the Bush crowd was flying high. It’s disturbing, particularly because so many of the targets are women. This is not the Democratic Party many of us have worked for; this is not the progressive blogosphere we’ve supported. Without blaming the worthy candidacy of Senator Obama in any way, this is not a progressive movement – it’s a harsh, echo-filled politburo bathed in faux post-racial hosannas and the gauzy camera lens of “hope.”
This is also the time to note the lack of leadership in the party. Howard Dean’s no-so-subtle lean toward Obama is troubling; the empty coffers of the DNC are alarming. Chairman Dean’s inability to lead real primaries in Florida (which now appears lost to McCain) and Michigan (which took matters into its own hands) shows a true dearth of leadership. Even with the incredible excitement over our candidates, he has failed the party’s greater ambitions.
Sadly, the very comments on Alegre’s strike post over at dKos – where leader Markos Moulitsas has become increasingly harsh in his attacks on Senator Clinton – prove her case for the walk-out. And thus far, 68 Kos writers have joined the strike (something of euphemism, since they don’t get a share of the BlogAds take a the site).
Mark Ambinder and Jake Tapper have more. And don’t ignore the mirror post at MyDD, where many of the ex-Kossacks have decamped for more balanced discussions.
His post has many good comments too.
Watson includes these paragraphs from the Daily Kos post by Alegre that got the non-party started:
I’ve put up with the abuse and anger because I’ve always believed in what our on-line community has tried to accomplish in this world. No more. DailyKos is not the site it once was thanks to the abusive nature of certain members of our community.
I’ve decided to go on “strike” and will refrain from posting here as long as the administrators allow the more disruptive members of our community to trash Hillary Clinton and distort her record without any fear of consequence or retribution. I will not be posting at DailyKos effective immediately. I will not help drive up traffic or page-hits as long as my candidate – a good and fine DEMOCRAT – is attacked in such a horrid and sexist manner not only by other diarists, but by several of those posting to the front page.
I don’t expect to be following this firsthand but the sentiments resonate for me.
Whatever the dilemmas are right now that plague the Democratic party and its followers, they are exactly the kind of difficulties that offer people who see themselves as leaders a chance to show how they lead. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should both seize the opportunity and lead us to the path that will turn that White House from red to blue.
Just do it?
Just do it. Somebody.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:40 pm March 16th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Blogging, Hillary Clinton, WH2008
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28 Responses to “Cyberbullying cyberbullies: the Daily Kos defection”
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Hillary could do the honorable thing and bring us all together united behind Barack. She can’t, afterall, gain a delegate lead by the convention. The only thing she can do is divide further and burn the party to the ground.
..yet what you get from her are disingenuous VP offers.
“Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should both seize the opportunity and lead us to the path that will turn that White House from red to blue.”
Obama is doing the only thing you’d expect of a frontrunner: dodging slings and arrows. What precisely do you expect them to do? The only person who can truly stop dividing and start uniting is Hillary – and she won’t do it. It was supposed to be her party, afterall.
You should call on Hillary to step down and begin campaigning for Obama. Help us Obi Wan Hillary. You’re our only hope!
cyberbullies? please.
writers “strike”? good god.
i’ve never heard anyone whine more than hillary supporters. monkey see, monkey do.
Eric – you are cute, but you miss my point me thinks: this isn’t about me or you or anyone else fighting amongst us little peoples to “call on” anyone to step down.
They are supposed to be leaders? Who think that they can lead this entire country?
Let them figure it out between themselves and show us how leaders lead, among a group of people who are for the most part favorable to both of them. If this current nomination situation isn’t an urgent, difficult one that they need to resolve, I don’t know what is.
They need to lead, damn it.
I totally agree. I’m just saying how I think the leadership should go down. It IS incumbent upon us to express our opinions of how they should lead. We should never leave it to them. That’s what blogging is about. That’s what activism is bout. Never leaving it to them.
“little peoples” is a mental construct designed by the likes of those who really do wish we would just “leave it to them”.
If one wanted to take a bold stand, they would call on Hillary to step aside. That would show true leadership and willingness to put party over self. If one wanted to let “them” figure it out, they’d just wait for the news at 11. Maybe I didn’t so much miss your point as to ask you to take a bold stand?
So I’ll ask my question again: What specifically should Hillary and Obama do in your eyes to “seize the opportunity and lead us to the path that will turn that White House from red to blue.”?
Eric, what “take a bold stand”? This isn’t about us taking bold stands – we’re not running for anything – I’m not anyway. I want THEM to take the bold stands. Who cares if a blogger or an op-ed blowhard says, This is what they should do bla bla bla? How does that help?
Sure – lots of people saying that they want something, but this isn’t a race about how well we can run the candidates to do what we want. At least, that’s not what I am looking for.
Aren’t we electing someone who can make decisions, as opposed to just being good listeners who then say, “Why yes! That’s what I should do! Thank you!”
You can tell me you think I’m passing the buck – I’m not concerned about it looking that way to you. But this is craziness – the going has gotten tough – they need to make choices and decisions. I want THEM to figure out what is best. I actually don’t know what would be best – do you actually think you know?
Well, I guess you do.
whatever, jill.
I know who I want as my President, yes. I voted for him. So did a bunch more people. That’s how he came to have the delegate lead, popular vote lead, and states won lead.
Did you really just ask me how does it help for a blogger or OpEd person to say something? I find that hard to believe. Let’s just quit then. Let’s just stop typing and wait for someone to lead us. Bloody brilliant, that!
Yes. I want YOU to take a bold stand. Ask Barack to step down. Make the case. Ask Hillary. Make the case. Write a thesis on how they should flip a coin to decide who is on top of the ticket and get on with it.
Form an opinion and state it. You’re killing me!
So I’ll ask my question one last time: What specifically should Hillary and Obama do in your eyes to “seize the opportunity and lead us to the path that will turn that White House from red to blue.”?
I’ll hang up and listen…
no eric. you don’t understand.
what bloggers are for is to walk themselves and their readers around in mind-numbing circles, wondering “gee…..wonder what THAT means? what a clever blogger!”
Your MO isn’t my MO. Doesn’t have to be, wouldn’t expect to be. Why you guys get all whiney and bummed out, or nasty and insistent or whatever because people aren’t lemmings, I have no idea. I would think you’d be happy people aren’t lemmings.
If I knew what the hell would fix this current messy primary, I WOULD run for president or something. Right now, I’m focused on being able to read six 2nd grader’s “how to” books about not letting guinea pigs bite you and how to make a cat dance.
MO? I’m just asking for an opinion. If you don’t have one that’s cool. Not an MO though. Opinion forming and expression is quite common in the blogosphere. I must have missed the whining and I’m certainly not bummed out. I’m quite optimistic, thanks! I’m not being nasty am I? Insistent? OK, maybe a bit there. I do find it hard to believe that you don’t have a theory or an opinion of how to fix the mess we’re in, but if you don’t you don’t. No big. Maybe in 36 comments or so we’ll drag it out of ya!
BTW, hold the head between your forefingers tightly while holding the body firmly with the other three fingers. Also works for cats. No clue on the dancing…
Everyday they campaign, Obama and Clinton are showing how they’d lead the federal gov’t. That’s at least one reason I didn’t vote for Hillary — too much “huh, you don’t say the Pentagon launched nukes at Iran? Who knew?”.
IMO, the real leadership deficit is Dean’s. Perhaps he’s working the Rules Committee hard to not let the renegades storm the convention after all, but publicly he looks like a weak captain.
And just for good measure here – given the way anything I’ve written about anything related to Obama or Hillary, what logic could possibly persuade me to share with you both of all bloggers what I really think they should do? Experience tells me you have no interest other than to forward your candidate in any way, shape or form.
Let me tell you something about a uniter: if Obama is the uniter we’re told to expect, the last thing he would do would be to allow hostile environments to grow and perpetuate and become the last place where anyone would feel safe offering their two cents.
Rather than create an atmosphere of yes we can, you are fostering an atmosphere of no you don’t and do it our way.
When you get serious about asking and listening and responding, let me know.
Eric – I think you are trying – but your glee for your candidate still gets the best you. It just isn’t a safe environment to encourage people who don’t think and do exactly like you to contribute.
I KNOW and I mean I KNOW you know what I mean. And that makes it even harder sometimes to take your uber ardor over Obama.
Eric: come on! every seven year old knows how to make a cat dance – shoelaces.
Red – I’d go with that re: Dean. But I’m not familiar with who we’re supposed to expect to stop the madness. At this point, I don’t really care – but the people who CAN stop it need to stop it.
How they do that – just not something I know enough about. I don’t even know what the options really are.
check please!
jill, no one knows what you mean.
NOW you get it, Tim!
Great post Jill. I posted some of my concerns about Obama and I got more COMMENTS BASHING me for being concerned!! WTH?!?!
Um, I thought this was America? In the America my relatives who fought in the Revolutionary War did so so that we COULD express concerns and debate.
The bashings I got were a real turn off for me to Obama, actually.
oh….those mean obama bloggers! they’re so insensitive! get me some midol!
Writers Strike at Daily Kos? Try a Readers Strike.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5809
It gets contradictory and confusing particularly to us lemmings. I could end up with such a bad taste in my mouth that I would simply vote for the moderate republican. I am on the fence I actually have no fears McCain is not Bush he is far left of Bush.
Today I am wondering if the financial crisis is serious. Then I ask myself who is best to deal with these very complex issues. I also think that if you address the big problems then the Afrocentrists and the Feminist benefit.
The country is like big ship it does not do hairpin turns, I want a president that can handle the behind the scenes dealings and speak across party lines.
Lemmings think a rubber stamp in Washington is a good idea; I think it is a fantasy/nightmare. We do realize most things are not either or they are usually both.
Are you all prepared for an end to the war with “we can not afford it financially” not a theoretically inability to afford it the inability to finance it. Some will cheer as the ship takes on water until they realize they are actually on the ship…lemmings.
You know Jill four out of five financial analysts on MSNBC last night were woman…I blame me noticing their gender on you.
Change for the sake of change…nonsense change is a child of necessity, I hope she has an easy birth, is there such a thing?
[...] Because, for one thing, it seems as though he’s doing this before Hillary Clinton. And, as I wrote last night, all I’m asking for is for these folks who want to lead our country to take the damn lead [...]
It’s interesting to see Watson complain about Hillary-bashing and then turn around and write this:
“Without blaming the worthy candidacy of Senator Obama in any way, this is not a progressive movement – it’s a harsh, echo-filled politburo bathed in faux post-racial hosannas and the gauzy camera lens of “hope.””
I engaged with Hillary supporters for awhile, but got tired of being bashed as misogynist every time I criticized her campaign (ironic because I research gender inequality in the workplace). The bottom line is that Hillary’s campaign is responsible for nearly all of the negativity present in the campaign so far, yet her supporters throw a fit when they’re called on it.
I agree with others that I hope it ends soon, but I’m not hopeful. Hillary and her team have already shown the lengths to which they’re willing to go to get the nomination. It will get uglier before it will get better.
Ugh, this is getting dizzying. And I hate it when I hear about “leadership.” Both Hillary and Obama are leading right now. They’re showing exactly the sort of leadership they value, and how they’ll each run the country.
I would be having heart problems on a daily basis if I was a Democrat blogger going through all this.
“Midol,” Russo? Seriously? WTF? If this doesn’t prove the point of the original Kos poster about the sexist, stupid drivel that pours out of the mouths of so many Obama supporters, I don’t know what does.
You do your own candidate a disservice with comments like that, and you turn off the Clinton supporters who might have been inclined to support him in future.
Hey Ben, try being an independent!
McCain, Hitlery, and Obama equal more of the same.
More war, more hunger and more destruction to the once great American landscape.