Look, its easy to play the victim and to decide that every member of Congress is tone deaf and elitist and clubby and all the "them vs. us" arguments that make the enemization of our Representatives possible, but logic and statistics suggest that its more likely that SOME responsibility lies with our strategy.

I believe (<--- note only one asshat's opinion) we've (insomuch as there is a "we") been unable to translate our election success (where they need us for money and votes and foot-soldiers) into having a voice in governance because we increasingly seem to only have one methodology for communication... fury.</p>

THEY don't want to deal with us for governance because THEY don't relish an angry mob with flaming keyboards calling them bigots and racists and homophobes and sell-outs and incompetent.

Now, I can hear the counter argument bubbling up, "FUCK THEM! THEY WORK FOR US!" but the verb in that statement (the verb that is not FUCK) is WORK and they're not WORKING for us.

It appears to be a fallacy that we can get THEM to capitulate through constantly brow-beating.

THEY are avoiding us because they simply do not think that we -- the FAR LEFT -- can be reasoned  with.

THEY believe, and somewhat rightly so, that we are much more interested in clinging to our self-righteous fury then in being able to manage our disappointments and seeking compromise so they show up when its time for the cash or the grass-roots jolt of energy and then disappear when it comes time to legislate.

THEY believe we are the extremists, no more "reality based" than those at Little Green Footfungus because every slight seems to wipe away YEARS of good governance on issues we care about.

We (again with that we) MUST learn to find a voice of Progressive Moderation, which both stays true to our belief, but also learns how to lobby without brass-knuckles, because the whole "withhold the money and votes" threat only ends up hurting us more than them.

Sure, once in a very blue moon Al Wynn gets a swift kick in the primary from Donna Edwards, but more often then not incumbents win and live to vote anew.

I get it... I get it... blogging is a medium that feeds on heat... and typed words... silence being this form's death knell, but it is dismaying to increasingly open my browser to witness a march toward the fringe, especially because each step away only increases the tendency to shout even louder.


And Daily Kos' rankings, are nearing the 10,000 mark, something that would have been unheard of months ago.  And almost all Democrats avoid Daily Kos because the kooks, crazies, and nuts control the site, led by Markos himself.  And the reason why Obama will listen to Rick Warren before Markos Moulistas says all you need to know about what Obama thinks of Daily Kos.  Most people believe that the Daily Kooks are the extremists and no more reality based than Little Green Footfungus because that just happens to be the case.  And most people don't want to deal with Daily Kos Kooks because they can't be reasoned with as I have demonstrated all too well when I showed you how when you try to reason with them and be fair, they simply don't know the art of fairness, reason, or compromise.

Daily Kos cooked its own goose.  Boo their f**king asses off at any future netroots nations events, if they even bother to show up.  The Democratic netroots are for real progressives, real liberals, and real moderates who do NOT have the mentality of the Daily Kos Kooks.  The Daily Kos Kooks do not speak for me, democrats, or the netroots.