As amply documented by the liberal Buckeye State Blog, who concludes with
To date kos has failed to directly address the central issues. Does Armstrong barter his services with clients to include the editorial influence of kos, if so is kos party to this ? Instead he has diverted attention from this question by attacking those asking these questions.
kos at the end of the day I think has poor judgement and is naive – Hackett flip flop, the DLC attack that never came, Warner and Yearlykos- all leave many wondering. While Armstrong and kos have a symbiotic relationship, and some business ties (in the past, and with their recent book) I don’t believe there is any transfer of money for editorial influence – I think Jerome simply gets some of that for free, that at least is my impression.
I personally don’t care how this story turns out, the netroots in the Ohio Senate race are now poisoned beyond recovery thanks to these bozo’s – I just hope I don’t have to witness them screw up any more races in the state I live.
Indeed, as blogged here before, Kos et al are indeed naive. Their claimed goal is to take over the Democratic Party yet they have no real life organization or cadre to do it with. An amorphous ‘netroots’ blob that exists only in cyberspace sure doesn’t count as an organization either. Worse, they appear startled and unprepared when The Powers That Be attack back – they were expecting to just waltz in and assume control? Clueless, you ask me.
The Ohio mess is instructive. They pissed off people who presumably should have been on their side. Dumb. And arrogant. A seasoned organizer with actual competence doesn’t barge into an area telling everyone what to do, alienating those who should be allies. A real organizer goes in, and then LISTENS to what people want. That’s how you build an organization, community power, and political power.
Now they’re compounding their errors by refusing to explain and instead getting angry and paranoid. Again, someone seasoned in the world of politics wouldn’t be shooting themselves in the foot quite so often – especially when they claim to be the new breed who will clean up the town. If you profess to follow a higher standard, then you need to live up to it. Else folks will think you’re just another gasbag politico.
[tags]kosola[/tags]