This has been on my mind since watching Kos on MTP Sunday. The essence of the show was the illustration of how Democratic leadership has failed to represent the rank & file Democrat. Democratic leadership has become so entrenched in beltway thinking that it has lost touch with America. Along come Kos & Dailykos, and suddenly the "average American" has a way to unite an speak with one voice. And a place to unify & organize, producing clout that has affected national politics. As the interview showed so plainly, mainstream media and Democratic leadership are afraid of us. For years they have held the reins and the filters, and have pretty much told us what they want us to know. But that has drastically changed and now we have a way to hear the truth and find the facts and speak for America.
Now stop & compare this to the Republican party: The Republican party has been hijacked by the robber barons, the corruptors, the neo cons & the fundies. No longer does the Republican leadership represent the rank & file Republican. From personal experience, I have heard much grumbling from long time Republicans: how they are very loyal to the party, but the part does not represent true Republican values any more. They are sick of Bush, his leis & how he has ruined America and the Republican party. They want him out. By & large, these Republicans believe that Republican values lie in the party of Lincoln & Einsenhower. Many of them remember Eisenhower’s warning about the military – Industrial complex, and they see very clearly what this complex has done to America and the rest of the world. They see, but have not quite figured out what to do about it, except to hold their noses & vote Democratic next election just to purge the corrupt incumbents.
But I think they are very interested in Dailykos. If anything, Billo, Hannity, ad naesuem, has drawn attention to DailyKos, but the results have not been what they expected: Republicans have come here and seen American discourse in action. And they see that things here are not at all like they are being depicted by their so called leaders. They see ideas floated, outrage expressed & acted upon, truth revealed, backstories brought to light, sources verified, hate mongers shot down. They see Americans rallying around the principles that this country was founded upon. They also see that Dailykos is not the boogie man that Rove is trying to scare them with. In fact, they see contrary ideas aired and discussed in a more or less civil way- no banning (unless it is truly out of hand), no hate mongering, no name calling, no smearing and no lying. Not at all like Redstate or LGF or any of the Republican blog sites. If anything, they see that lies have no place on Dailykos- they get quickly exposed and refuted, with authentic references and sourcing. And those Lincoln & Einsenhower Republicans are getting an idea- we can do that, too. Maybe we can regain control of our party. And I have a feeling this will happen.
There are some of us here who remember a time in the American two party political system where ideas could be discussed civilly, with an idea n what is good for the American people. When the parties were about leadership and principles, not power & greed. Where discussion led to thought and distillation of ideals into action that was good for the people of America. I think that this is the next step in the evolution of net politics. The Republican rank & file will find their net voice & throw out their corrupt leaders – they really have no other choice, for the present corruption will destroy the Republican party forever. Like Democrats, they want their party back. This is the commonality. We are disenfranchised American. Republican and Democrats alike, we want what is best for America and its people. "We the people...."
I certainly hope that the Republican rank & file will create their own version of Dailykos. Surely they can see what the collective at Dailykos has done, and they want to do that also. Maybe there already is a Republican Dailykos type site up somewhere. If there is, it would be good for us to go there and converse with them, not as Democrats, but as fellow Americans who want to return this country to its founding principles.
Discussion?