Fellow Kossacks, we scare the right. A lot. We probably scare some of the left too. What was the order of events according to Gandhi?
First they ignore us, then they ridicule us, then they fight us, then we win? OK, we're at the ridicule phase, that's all.
So it's a big deal that Faux News wrote an article about us but perhaps not for the reasons you might think it is.
They think we are going to implode? Ha! Bill O'Reilly predicts the collapse of Air America every day. Last I checked, AAR has stations all over TEXAS! Not just Austin, but Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and El Paso. No station in Houston yet, but AAR's not even 3 years old yet.
If they want to predict that Maryscott and richards1052 are going to each lead separate revolts against Kos, let them. Better they do that than spend their time and effort dismantling social security.
I didn't read richards1052's diary when he posted it, but I saw Maryscott's diary and I read it. As usual, I thought she had some good points. I left a few comments.
Was the diary the start of a new and drastically different era of Daily Kos? No. It was Maryscott being Maryscott - an intelligent person with a charismatic flair for writing. No reason to assume the site's going to collapse. It was a Saturday, a slow news day, Dick Cheney didn't shoot anyone in the face, so we went a little nuts on a meta diary. It happens.
Faux News obviously watches our site. They obviously read our writing. They are FREAKED OUT. And they SHOULD BE.
- They are scared that 1000 of us met in Vegas.
- They are scared that we attracted C-SPAN, the New York Times, NPR, and the rest of the MSM.
- They are scared that my dad watched Markos on the MSM and now he respects what I do on the site.
- They are scared that each of us has a network of Daily Kos friends spread out through the U.S. like a big extended family.
- They are scared that Gov. Schweitzer reads the blogs every morning.
- They are scared that Gov. Vilsack called Teacherken to chat.
- They are scared that Rep. Brad Miller recommends Bonddad's diaries.
- They are scared that a publisher found Ilona's diaries and gave her a book deal about PTSD.
- They are scared that Joe Wilson looks to emptywheel as a leading expert on Plamegate.
- They are scared that people came up to me in Vegas and told me that they changed their lifestyles in some way or another to be more sustainable because of my diaries.
- They are scared about the money the netroots raises for its candidates.
- They are scared that Jon Tester won his primary with netroots support and he might well boot Burns out of Washington.
- They are scared that they had to work so hard to defend CA-50.
- They are scared every time Markos sells a book.
- They are scared every time a new user registers.
- They are scared when Daily Kos' google ranking or Alexa ranking or number of daily hits rises.
- They are scared that we've had our first Daily Kos marriage.
- They are scared that something like half a million Americans, including a big bunch of Kossacks, met in DC a year ago to protest the war.
- They are scared that we were a part of the rise of Cindy Sheehan.
- They are scared that our diaries represent a lot of smart facts and opinions that are now available and searchable on the internets, free to anyone who wants to read them.
- They are scared that our candidates and leaders come here and we can ask them questions and get answers.
- They are scared that Kossack meetup groups have sprung up all over the country, and neighbors are meeting one another and getting involved in local progressive politics.
So what do they do? They say we'll implode. They call us names like "extreme far left." They try to claim we're a bunch of pimply-faced teenagers, even though we represent all age groups. They look for clues that we're all rebelling against Markos, a scandal is afoot, and we're blowing up from the inside.
Well, I don't know about you, but I've got a diary mostly written for this Sunday. And I've got one half-written for next week, and some books from the library and a few phone numbers of people to follow up with for diaries after that. I, for one, am obviously operating under the notion that Daily Kos is going to be here a week from now, a month from now, and a year from now.
If Daily Kos has proved one thing to me it is: find a niche, find what you love, and put some work into it. Only good things can come of it. I don't expect a governor to ring me up like what Teacherken experienced, or a Representative to recommend my diaries like Bonddad. For the time being, I'm pretty tickled that I said online that my Dell laptop broke and a Kossack who works for Dell emailed me and helped me identify what was wrong with it.
Want to hurt them? If you're a lurker, register. You don't have to comment or write diaries if you don't want to, but let yourself be counted. Pick a handle. If you've never written a diary before, wait until you find inspiration and write one. If you meet someone - a person at a coffee shop or an airplane or wherever - who is frustrated with the right and with the MSM, tell them to come to Daily Kos.
Most of all, everyone, just keep it up. Keep on keepin' on. You don't need instructions. We might not know what's to come in the next year or two, but I know we're doing it right.
In all honestly, I'm not quite sure what is happening, and I'm not sure what to call it. I know it's big and I feel like something even bigger is just on the horizon for us. So I don't care what the right calls it. Fox News can call it implosion or they can call it yo mamma. I'm just going to keep blogging.