I don't mean to stick myself into the heated discussion currently raging here, what with everyone naming their diaries "Accept that ( . . . I'm going to the grocery store at 3?)" That is, I don't mean to take sides. But I think a little clarification might be in order, because I see a lot of people getting very hot, perhaps hotter than they usually would, because of some of the personalities involved. So this is but an attempt to reconcile the "Not everyone is a Democrat" diary by Dana Houle with the "Houle Hoop" diary by Seneca Doane. Below the fold, follow . . .
Dana Houle's diary the other day, Accept That Not Everyone at Daily Kos is a Democrat addressed, for me, one of the more frustrating aspects of this site in recent weeks: namely, constant invocation the of ill-defined term 'populism' to essentially say 'Obama is just paying out trillions to his bankster buddies!!!' and "New boss, same as the old boss!!" Booman addressed these claims incredibly well
It makes little sense to suggest he's stealing our money to give it to Banksters unless you really truly believe that's his motivation. It doesn't make a lot of sense to persist in yelling at him to nationalize the banks and wipe out the shareholders as a cost-saving measure if there's little evidence we'll really save money doing that.
I'm oversimplifying here, but I've noticed that there is a segment of the Kos population that simply will not be satisfied by the center-left approach (and sometimes just 'center')that Obama advocates and practices. There are people for whom Obama can simply never do enough, short of hybridizing Kucinich and Krugman and following their prescriptions to the letter. That is fine by me, but occasionally these voices can become overwhelming and frustrating. I've written a few diaries on the topic, but it does frustrate me that Obama has been in office for 81 days, out of a possible ~2800, and already a segment of the DKos population has seemingly forgotten that the presidency is a long haul, with many battles yet to come. I feel that a sort of tunnel vision has been applied to the economic situation / bailout, that has disabled a long-view approach to Obama's presidency.
When Dana Houle said "Accept That Not Everyone on DailyKos is a Democrat," I suspect he was referring to roughly the same segment that I am. Those for whom the recession and Obama's response to it is the sole, or main, topic of discussion. I cannot honestly attempt to define WHO these people are, other than they tend to think the Geithner plan is a gift to bankers and that because of Geithner's current policy, the current untenable position of the financial sector will be perpetuated and cause more taxpayer pain.
This is where some goold old clarification comes in: I cannot speak for others, but I think that having a wide variety of opinions on this issue, including doomsayers, is an excellent thing. Be they Democrats or not, doomsayers force caution optimists like me to constantly re-evaluate our positions. I think that's a great thing. The thing I object to about doomsayers is the derision and dismissal of those who do NOT think the handbasket has already arrived in hell.
Dana Houle had a point when he identified the "non-Democrats" on the site as potential nuisances, and I think he spoke the truth when he said some people will never be satisfies by Obama's approach. What I disagree with is the notion that we should tune that portion of the site out entirely. What I would like is for the doomsayers, generally, to be a little more open in their position. There are huge issues of contention right now-- Afghanistan, the economic situation, the DoJ torture memos-- that we can have reasoned discussions about. I simply object to ANY person on the site, be it Dana Houle, who I generally agree with, or someone with a darker outlook on Obama's policies, dismissing an entire group of Kossacks out of hand.
And also, I would suggest that anyone currently ripping on Dana Houle go back and read his diary again. He's not necessarily wrong. His tone might be objectionable, and maybe he engages in dismissal, but his diagnosis of the problem-- DailyKos becoming a vehicle for doomsaying, with claims of ignorance or stupidity leveled against those who disagree. This quote, I believe, is spot-on,
Some fair-minded, reasonable Democrats and supporters of Barack Obama, in short, are getting tired, even disgusted with what they perceive as ceaseless negativism about the Obama administration. They're tired of the histrionics about how Obama is a sell out, or we should have expected him to be this bad a president, not only because they don't think he's a sell out, but because they reject the underlying premise that he's not doing a pretty decent job. And they get exasperated when they see crap about how Obama is no better than Bush.
The fallot from that diary has spun out of control in the last couple days, and I think perhaps some forget what it was even about. It's not about Dana Houle, or Seneca Doane or any other personality here. It's about the site. We can all be partially right, as long as we can honestly acknowledge and engage with other people's arguments. I'm prepared to do so, and I hope a lot of other eople out there are, too. Happy Easter, everyone.