This weekend saw a stunning success, and a colossal failure. And they are linked. While thousands of Kossacks were in Chicago, meeting, planning, and listening, the Democratic Congress once again offered a surrender to Bush and his assault on our basic practice of government.
Watching both of these from afar, I am struck by the disconnect between the two - how at one moment our movement has been given a powerful sense of validation through the experience of Yearly Kos, as presidential candidates came to pay homage and as bloggers came to continue the work of building a new, open, left politics; and how at the other moment, we were completely powerless to stop our Democrats from selling out yet another one of our rights, from giving Bush even more unaccountable and unconstitutional power.
This disconnect is troubling. It suggests that even though this year's yKos appears to have been even more of a success than last year's, even though we in the netroots now have recognition and influence with some Democrats, we still aren't able to effect the kind of change we really need.
It's my view that the netroots came about not because we didn't have enough Democrats in power, but because we were outraged at how the Democrats misused the power they did have. It wasn't merely that Democrats didn't have the White House, but that Dems insisted on voting for and supporting the policies of a president we all knew to be the worst thing to happen to this country in a very long time. Our outrage was at Dems for voting for the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, for Bush's SCOTUS nominees, for his tax cuts and for his attacks on the Constitution with his spying and his denial of habeas corpus rights (remember that many Dems voted for the Military Commissions Act last fall).
Having more Dems in office certainly helps things, especially when it denies Republicans the ability to set a legislative agenda, for example. But as we now see, it does not at all guarantee that the fundamental problem of misplaced Democratic priorities, of their appalling attitude of appeasement, something they so easily fall into, will be dealt with.
Consider the fate of two of our netroots heroes from last fall: Jim Webb and Jon Tester. Jim Webb voted FOR Bush this weekend, issueing a lame statement that most Kossacks appear to be rejecting. Jon Tester, who already had won our hearts but won us over even more strongly when he denounced the Patriot Act, voted against Bush but hasn't been heard from on the issue - or at all, really. Where has he been these last six months? Where was he on the FISA vote? Webb voted against us, and Tester's voice seems to have been neutralized. Not an auspicious beginning for the electoral strategy.
This seems to be at the heart of the disconnect. This year's Yearly Kos seems to have shown that in Democratic campaigns, the netroots are a welcome part of the process. Maybe it's merely because the establishment sees us as an ATM, or because they genuinely believe we wield influence beyond our numbers, or some combination of the two. Although it is quite an accomplishment to have the Democratic candidates appear at Yearly Kos seeking our approval, it seems that's all they seek of us.
I grow concerned that our success is increasingly being limited and confined to campaign politics. It's as if the DC Dems are saying to us "help us get elected, but don't expect us to listen to you once we win." We have not yet developed any effective means of changing their behavior - and really, that is what we really want from them. We want them to stop hoarding the gunpowder and start using it. We want them to stand up for us, for America, for our values and our rights and our Constitution, and block Bush's attacks on those things. We want them to stop acting scared and submissive when Bush starts talking about terrorism. We want them instead to start leading, not just to block Bush's horrific goals, but to instead assert a new, better approach to security and safety.
What we want is to not have to witness another contemptible display as we did in the Congress this weekend on the FISA vote.
As long as such things happen we must conclude that our movement has not yet accomplished anything. We haven't won a damn thing. We have had important successes. And the Yearly Kos phenomenon shows that we have power and influence as a united group - that when we choose to act together we can make the nation take notice. But until we can stop these Democrats from doing things like rolling over for Bush whenever he commands it, we remember that we still have a long way to go.
Let us then take up the task of bridging this disconnect. To ensure that Democratic politicians can't just show up at yKos, kiss our ring, and walk away and do stupid things when they get back to DC. We need to develop influence regarding legislation and votes on the Hill as strong if not stronger than our influence regarding campaigns and elections.
This weekend was a reminder of how far we have come - and how far we still have to go.