I just did an Operation Hilarity diary last night, but I figured Kos' two diaries on the subject today warrant another response.
First I just want to say that, when all is said and done, this probably isn't a huge deal. This is still a great website, and there's no reason that this "fight" should turn ugly. But still, this is something that I think has far more chance to do bad than good, and I thought I'd explain why.
Kos' first article makes the argument that this is completely ethical to do. I would disagree but he makes fair points, and I'll save those moral questions for elsewhere. He then says ""Now if you disagree tactically, I can respect that." In the second article, he makes his tactical argument:
The longer this contest drags out, the more damage is done to the GOP's chances in 2012. That's why establishment Republicans who know how to read polls are desperate for this thing to be over yesterday ... That's what Operation Hilarity is about—extending this race past Super Tuesday. Once we're into March, we reassess based on conditions on the ground. At that point, perhaps we need to give Romney a boost to keep things dragging out!
This is, as far as I can tell, the only argument in favor of OH: The longer the nomination process goes on, the better for us it is. And, generally speaking, that's true. But this ignores one main point: If polling stays the same, the nomination battle will almost definitely drag on past Super Tuesday no matter what we do, and therefore
there is no reason for us to get involved. The Republicans have already put together by far the most embarrassing presidential primary of my lifetime. Get that?
The thing is, I see this playing out in one of three ways:
1. It means nothing, and is a waste of money, time and effort
2. It actually is effective, meaning media attention gets put on it, dragging us into what was once a purely Republican/conservative fight
3. It is effective but no one on the right or in the media notices, hooray for us
Now, personally, I think either 1 or 2 (AKA the bad ones) are FAR more likely to occur than 3 (AKA the good one). And that brings me to the most maddening point Kos makes, the very last one:
One thing is definitely for sure—the longer these guys have the spotlight, the worse it is for them. So let's keep it squarely on them.
How the fuck is organizing an effort for Democrats to vote in a Republican primary, organized by the largest progressive website in the country, keeping the spotlight "squarely on them"? It's the opposite. This primary has been a shitshow and it has been a
100% Republican shitshow. There is absolutely no reason to change that.
Edit: Added a poll on request, I guess if it's what the cool kids are doing...