When I talk about a long game, I mean that the only hope of positive change in the long run is for many people in this country to change their cultural beliefs. Conservatives have been working hard at doing this for a long time now. They have some advantages. The natural tribalism in human nature works in their favor since they do not have to be factually correct in their beliefs, just make their beliefs part of membership to the tribe. A gridlocked society works in their favor since breaking down government, or any society wide response to problems, allows the sort of private unaccountable power they favor to take over.
So to me, the decision to not have Daily Kos participate in Netroots Nation in Arizona can only be evaluated by one criteria: does it make it more or less likely that people will understand that the conservative movement is a danger to the country and a progressive movement has a chance to help the country.
No one should expect that any one event as Netroots Nation is by itself going to change anyone overnight. Change is usually an accumulation of small events that eventually add up in some way to a particular person. What we need is an accumulation of events over time, possibly a long time, to make progress.
That's why I was very pleased back when Howard Dean tried to start a 50 state strategy, and dismayed when the "official" Democratic machinery abandoned it. That's why I am very happy to see Elizabeth Warren campaigning for Senate candidates in Kentucky and West Virginia. Democrats need to be seen and heard in Alabama and Texas and Arizona, not just in New York or California. People in red states need to see that Democrats are not some distant stereotype described by Fox News, but real people, their own neighbors, who have a real message. There are Democrats and progressives in every state, even the ones that elect conservatives. They should put up candidates in every election who run hard, even if they lose, to put out the message for the future. They should be ready when people start to understand, as they may be starting to understand in Kansas, that there is another way that offers hope.
How does this relate to the DKos Netroot Nation decision? I am not sure. An evaluation of the effect on people who are not progressives and who might change some day is an educated guess at best. I tend to think that the decision is a bad one.
Here are couple of thoughts that make me tend to think it is a bad decision:
Most people will think of the decision as just another tribal action, it will not cause people to pause and ponder why the decision was made.
You could use similar criteria to not go to Detroit. Michigan has some bad conservative government also, as the appalling water shutoff problem shows. Netroots Nation might have brought a bit more attention to the water problem, and people need to understand just how bad that problem is.
The whole general problem with changing the culture is a difficult one. We here on DKos are usually preaching to the choir when we write here. Writing in comment sections in places like the CNN website or Huff Post is frustrating, usually it devolves into "my tribe is right, yours is wrong", but I should try to do it more anyway. My limited experience with volunteering for election door to door or phone bank work may help get out the vote, but people are usually not open to having a real discussion in that situation, plus time for each person is short. I make campaign contributions, I know that helps get candidate message out. But marketing messages are limited as a means of cultural change. I try to discuss with people I interact with, family, friends and coworkers, that might help some.
Ultimately, persistence is needed.
The bottom line is that our goal is not to make ourselves feel self satisfied. It is to make people start to ponder if there is a better way than the way presented by the conservative movement.