I'm just the average "rabid lamb" progressive; sick to death of this administration and rolling my eyes at
the cluelessness of the old guard DC incumbents (politicians and media).
But there are a couple of things that have happened recently with us -- and they're bothering me. I'm not a particularly regular blogger; I'm certainly not on the "inside" of anything. I am, however, exactly the kind of person that the progressive movement needs fired up in the next few years. I don't want to feel discouraged. So I'm just going to make a couple of observations:
- It seems to me, the average observer, that in reacting to some ridiculous attacks on Markos (Kos Controls The Lefty Blogs Through The Power of His Ad Network!) as well as some completely unsubstantiated ones (Kos Supports The Candidates That Pay Jerome!), many progressive bloggers have decided on a non-nuanced all-out defense. Yet there is something I really don't like: Markos' request that people "starve" the story about Jerome and the SEC.
I thought we were going to be better than our opposition. Better means saying, "this is Jerome's story to tell and I hope he does. If he made a mistake, he should come clean and then we can all move on." And, indeed, that's what it seems some of the other members of that Townhall list did say. They were right. Markos, in asking people to ignore the story, was wrong (and I think it was a tactical mistake as well). When our opposition does the same thing, we condemn them. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard.
That one misstep does not mean that any of the other crap being thrown around over at TNR is true, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the sarcastic posts from many bloggers about their mind-control allegiance to The Almighty Kos.
But "better than this" means being willing to dissect the issue, recognize the one wrong turn, acknowledge it, and then move on. That's how you starve a story of its oxygen. When are we going to learn this?
- I have yet to see any widespread condemnation from progressive bloggers re: Larry Johnson's despicable comment about Karl Rove's mother's suicide (please point me to any posts on this, because I'd like to be wrong). Larry seems to feel that it's all fine because it's no worse than anything the Coulters of the right have done and because Karl more than deserves it for all the evil he has spread.
Karl Rove does deserve his own circle of hell and I would love nothing more than to be the one who delivers the knockout blow. I am beyond frustrated, angry, and discouraged at the lack of punishment for him that, it appears, he will receive in this life.
Karl's mother, on the other hand, is OFF LIMITS. Again, if anyone on the right made a comment like this (as they have) we would be justifiable horrified and call them out (as we have). It is not okay to behave the same way.
I do not advocate ignoring unjustified, ad-hominem, despicable attacks from our opponents. Each and every attack must be answered, each and every lie exposed. The media must be held to account every single day that they reprint the right's talking points, or give equal time to nonsensical opposing viewpoints just so they can claim they're "balanced."
Progressives need to combine a clear positive message (which is repeated, pummelled, and knocked into the heads of the media while it is communicated personally by the people-powered movement) with a vigorous defense whenever a Rovian attack occurs. What we must not do is embrace the heinous tactics of the opposition.
Let's be honest, strong, and righteous in our activism. Otherwise, we'll win nothing.