[Promoted by DHinMI: There are a lot of very sharp, energetic people at Daily Kos, the kind who aren't cowed in to obsequious submission by the foolish experts, the banal people who fetishize credentials, or the "wise, serious people" who write for the other "wise, serious people," the kind who rave about the latest inanities of David Brooks. Some of these banal and insecure pundits, these protectors of privilege and suck-ups to power, feel threatened by the media revolution of the last decade. They were accustomed to talking to us, but they haven't grown accustomed to us talking back to them. Instead of adapting to this change, or even embracing it, occasionally one of the more insecure but reckless of these "important people" takes a pot shot at us "rabble" at places like Daily Kos. And invariably someone steps forward to show that the "important person" is actually a fool. Kurt Andersen's pot shots at the Daily Kos community are foolish and inaccurate, but he at least inspired this witty demolition not only of his shallow article, but also of his shallow-sounding novel.]
Kurt Andersen argues in the current issue of New York Magazine that "The Surge Is Working!TM", lambasting DailyKos for failing to rejoice appropriately. While Andersen has been reading White House press releases, I have been reading his recent book, Heyday. I'm not sure who's better off. So, as much as I detest the "open letter," I feel it is my duty to respond.
Dear Kurt Andersen,
I have, of late, finished reading your 620-page tome Heyday, and in light of your recent comments about DailyKos, feel that it might be worthwhile for us to discuss both works of historical fiction in concert. Frankly, I felt sort of forced into volunteering for this task, because I don’t know anyone else here who’s even managed to read any of your book. We, on the other hand, have on average 487,391 page views per day, so while it is possible for others to join you in poorly-researched criticism of this website, the task of commenting on your book has fallen to me. Luckily, I read your book thoroughly--a technique you yourself might be wise to try--and feel confident in discussing your book on the merits of what it actually said.
See, it is my understanding that you wrote a particularly scathing critique of those of us here on DailyKos, and our apparent unwillingness to celebrate the recent White House blatant manipulation of intelligence announcement that "The Surge Is Working!TM." You write:
How strange it is, then, that among the many dozens of posts on Daily Kos during the past two weeks there was only one citing this major and, for antiwar activists, inconvenient turn of events. No mention of or link to the Times piece, but simply an opportunity to rant once again about Joe Lieberman. Shouldn’t the online headquarters of the Democratic left be chewing over the issue like crazy, if not admitting they may have been mistaken about the surge then at least trying to figure out how to deal with the possible domestic political impact of the new facts on the ground?
Now, fellow Kossack CTMET has already thoroughly debunked the claims therein, pointing to many such diaries that interrogated the notion that "The Surge Is WorkingTM." But I’d like to point out two other diaries and diarists in particular, an anonymous blogger who goes by Turkana and a decorated military veteran and blogger named Brandon Friedman. They’re writers like you* so maybe you’ll take their words more seriously.
*no offense intended to Brandon Friedman or Turkana. I merely mean that you share a profession. One of the oldest in the world, as they say...
::
On Friday, November 30, DailyKos user Turkana, a highly respected member of the community, wrote a diary entitled Iraq: It’s worse than you think. During its first 7 hours and 9 minutes of publication, the diary garnered 1460 views, 143 comments, and 240 recommends and reached the "Recommended" diary list on the front page, which is the result of community members reading and promoting the diary so as to increase its visibility. (In case you’re unclear about how we roll here.)
In the diary, he links to no less than SIXTEEN external news sources to make his argument that Iraq is rapidly devolving into a humanitarian crisis, regardless of what the White House press releases say. Here’s a particularly pithy part:
And despite the recent reduction in violence (all the way to 2005 levels, not anywhere close to the actual levels before Bush invaded), the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country has nearly doubled, this year. At a cost of a record number of American troop deaths, for this war, for a single year. And the coverage has completely ignored the fact that militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr called a unilateral six-month cease-fire, at the end of August, which might just be a factor. But the bigger, and largely ignored, story is the refugee crisis.
Now, how many sources from DailyKos did you link to in your column in which you argue that we’re not talking about whether or not the surge is working?
But maybe you’re not into purely repeating history as it was. Maybe, instead, you’re more interested in selective reading, in twisting historical events to make your writing more compelling. Hey, sounds a lot like your book Heyday!
As I read your book, I was initially willing to suspend disbelief when your protagonist Benjamin inadvertently triggered the French Revolution, when his cousin married Alexis de Tocqueville, and when he received an early draft of The Communist Manifesto from his friend... was his name? Friedrich Engels? Yes, they had so much in common, both working in the textile industry. And when he had dinner with Charles Darwin, who asked him to retrieve some exotic barnacles from California. So droll!
And how I ever tittered when your supporting character Timothy Skaggs talked shit about the young Congressman Abraham Lincoln with his law partner’s support staff, or when you so cleverly alluded to John Wilkes Booth as some unknown actor in New York. And how can we forget Skagg’s daguerrotypic rivalry with Matthew Brady or his obsession with attending Edgar Allen Poe lectures. Amazing, that you were able to link your quadrant of central characters with so many historical and important American figures! Why, one almost wonders if these fictional folks knew anyone who did not become hugely, fantastically famous and successful. Never once before have I perceived that an author felt as clever as you did, inserting all of these historical references hither and thither. My God. It was like reading the Cliffs Notes version of a historical work by Kenneth T. Jackson. And the ridiculous ending didn’t feel like deus ex machina at all, not even a little, not even a drop. But blame your editor for not forcing you to cut out that marauding French military character who ultimately gets an arrow to the head after stalking the protagonist all the way to the California Gold Rush. (Oops, sorry. I sort of spoiled that part.)
And oh! How funny that young Benjamin’s father is importing guano from South America to be used as fertilizer. Speaking of things that are batshit crazy, let’s return to how wrong you were about the discussion of "The Surge Is WorkingTM" here on DailyKos.
On Saturday, November 17, prominent diarist and military activist Brandon Friedman posted a diary British Leave Basra; Violence Drops By 90 Percent. If you’re not familiar with Brandon, you might want to read his book, The War I Always Wanted, about his experiences as an Army lieutenant in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brandon’s diary in question was considered to be so strong, that kos himself promoted it to the Front Page, to make sure that all visitors to this here website would see it. This diary received 357 recommends, 212 comments, and 1061 views, not counting those who simply read the front-page portion.
The diary is pretty straight-forward: the British pulled out of Basra, and violence dropped by 90 percent.
So let’s recap. Turkana tells us that Iraq is fast descending down into an even worse circle of hell than previously imagined; Brandon Friedman takes a break from giving expert commentary on television about the war to tell us that British troop reductions have caused a wonderful precipitous drop in violence, and you wonder why we’re not all celebrating the fact blatant lie that "The Surge Is WorkingTM?"
As for your book? It was, to be blunt, rather ridiculous and heavy-handed. While I initially enjoyed the glimpse into life in 1840’s New York City, your desire to demonstrate just how much you know (or were able to look up) seriously hindered plot and character development.
Here’s my suggestion, going forward. Spend a little bit more time researching your column, a little less time name-dropping in your books, and maybe even a little bit more time thinking critically about what the White House says about its occupation of Iraq.
In fact, I have a suggestion! I invite you to sign up for a username here at DailyKos, and join in the conversation. You might learn a thing or two. But if I were you... I’d avoid using my real name. You wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a professional journalist in these parts.
Toodles,
kath25