Thank You Chris Dodd

I've been a member of Daily Kos for nineteen months. Over that period I've become disenchanted with the site's direction and highly mistrust the motives of Markos Moulistas. They're many terrific members of the Daily Kos community and I appreciate the platform they provide for progressive bloggers such as myself. Unfortunately, Markos and the front pagers are more consumed with "winning" under the Democratic Party's label than the cause of real reform. Furthermore, I resent the banning of My Left Wing's Maryscott O'Connor and others for daring to point out the site's flaws. Hence, my misgivings about Daily Kos.

Putting those feelings aside, I highly appreciate the spirited defense of Senator Chris Dodd against Bill O'Reilly's smear tactics. O'Reilly has been waging a fanatical campaign of lies and distortion against Daily Kos and the progressive blogosphere as a whole.

The mere fact that five Democratic presidential candidates, including the "establishment" front runner Hillary Clinton are attending Yearly Kos illustrates the growing power of the netroots. It wasn't so long ago the Democratic Party's establishment treated us progressive bloggers as step children. How wonderful that the vile and corporatist Democratic Leadership Council is currently in the wilderness while progressive bloggers are courted.

So when Bill O'Reilly attempts to "swift boat" Daily Kos, he's also attacking each of us among the progressive netroots who want to prevent Christian corporatists from causing more damage and shame for our country. O'Reilly and his kind represent the dark underbelly of America's reactionary subculture that feeds off hate, homophobia, xenophobia and exploits fear for self-aggrandizement. They're a waste of skin with the blood of children who go without health insurance, soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as non-combatants who have been killed or tortured on their hands.

Thank you Chris Dodd for putting Bill O'Reilly in his place. It's regrettable the mainstream media doesn't consider thoughtful candidates such as yourself as belonging to the "first tier." Now please watch this inspirational clip from YouTube.

Was I Right About Chuck Hagel vs. Hillary Clinton?

The Washington Post reports Chuck Hagel is seriously considering competing for the Republican Party's presidential nomination in 2008. On August 27th, I pondered the possibility of a race between the rhetorically anti-war Republican Chuck Hagel and the mealy mouthed Hillary Clinton in a post entitled, "Reminiscing About the Future: Chuck Hagel vs. Hillary Clinton." I was innudated with emails from people who considered me crazy for even suggesting such a scenario. In a crossposting at Daily Kos, many commenters from that community also rejected the possibility. It doesn't seem so crazy anymore does it? I stand by what I wrote then,

"Hillary is the wrong messenger for Democrats to defeat him. She’s too mealy mouthed, too corporatist and too insincere. True strength stems from authenticity combined with a record of clarity and sound judgment. Hillary Clinton embodies none of those virtues. Preposterous as it sounds, a Hagel vs. Clinton race means Republicans prevail on a platform to exit from Iraq. We can’t let them get away with it."