Kos is an Ass

[penguin7]

OK, I already didn't like Kos because he decided to pick out Kucinich to write a smear article about, and then leave the rest of the field alone.

But now yesterday he is defending the early primary packing, using the rather lame argument that this gives the rest of the country a say. The reality is that the early primary packing gives money a bigger voice.

I do not read Kos, but the little I have read is not so good.

How did this Republican in Democrat clothing get influence on the Democratic party?

[wildbilln864]

1. Totally agree! n/t

[beachmom]

2. He and that crowd back in 2003/04 wanted Dean to win. When he

didn't, they blamed Iowa. I told him in the comments, that I'm just not with him on this. But really, this is the reason he's against having Iowa and NH go first. Because the guy he wanted didn't win last time.

[LittleClarkie]

18. It has often been like going to enemy territory to post about Kerry over there

probably for the same reason.

[beachmom]

39. Not so much now. I'd say things started getting better since Kerry

posted in '06. And the fact that he's one of the senators consistently having a spine has earned him points there, too. I no longer consider it enemy territory, but a fairly Kerry friendly place, with some exceptions.

[LittleClarkie]

49. I should go back then. It's been a while

and if it's changed, I should wander over there.

[smoogatz]

69. I think it's because they're thinly populated rural states

that don't necessarily represent the Democratic party mainstream, or pick the best candidates for the general. Why should NH and IA--with a combined population of 4.2 million--have more influence over the selection of the Democratic nominee than New York (19 million), California (36 million), Texas (22 million) or Florida (17 million)? I can't think of a good reason--can you?

[penguin7]

78. Because candidates cannot get their message out without spending

hundreds of millions of dollars if the large states lead the primaries.

This early primary packing gives money a stronger voice than it already has, and it already has too strong of a voice.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=221423

[smoogatz]

86. Maybe. But the current system also rewards fundraising

above all other concerns--AND it has the added problem of overemphasizing small states like IA and NH. I'd like to see a single, national primary day in March or April, but that would make too much sense.

[Dawgs]

87. How do you know they don't make the best choice for the general?

[smoogatz]

89. Because we've only won the Presidency three times since 1968--

once in the immediate wake of Vietnam/Watergate, and twice in the 90's without a majority of the popular vote? Maybe?

[Turn CO Blue]

91. I, too, blame Iowa and NH - why should those states go first?

Why?

[penguin7]

98. Then let two states go first at random with similar populations

But packing the early primaries will cut short the debate and let money decide. February 5, 2007 is one huge step backwards for democracy in the US.

The primary season is the only time the USA has anything resembling democracy, kos wants to cut short the debate and make the primaries as insipid as the rest of politics in the USA.

[Turn CO Blue]

100. Don't forget that

there are states that caucus instead of holding primaries. Caucuses resemble high school student government campaigns - all about popularity and cliques and back-scratching. That does not seem like little d democracy to me!

All I can say is that the current primary set-up doesn't seem democratic to me - far from it - from the standpoint of my being a "late" stater (Colorado) whose vote pretty much means nothing. I really resent the voters in these POWER states getting to choose for me and setting up the dominoes for the rest of the primary season. So in that respect, I agree with Markos. I don't think February 5th is a step backwards - I think it's a step forward for the Western states!

This doesn't mean that I think the primaries should be earlier - it means I think that the other states are RIGHTFULLY pushing to go ahead of the POWER states like Iowa so that their primaries mean something.

The only fair and democratic fix is that we should all go on the same damned day.

[penguin7]

105. Then I suggest you become a Republican,

except even the GOP apparently sees that a one day primary is bad idea.

If we can have your one day primary without giving money, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, WSJ, NYT, Washington POst, etc etc more influence than they already have, then it wouldn't be a problem. As it is the primary packing now going on is one giant leap in the wrong direction.

I think we can all agree that money and the MSM have far too much influence, and we can further agree that the primary packing only gives money and MSM more influence.

[Turn CO Blue]

106. So you'd rather give a few voters in NH and Iowa all the influence?

You are giving all the POWER to a limited number of rural voters in two states! How is THAT fair? Once those voters go - then the race is LOCKED IN. Not remotely fair at all. And you want to make sure those couple of voters keep their power so that the MSM does not have influence. How could the MSM possibly have more influence based on what dates and which states go in which order? NH had their effing day - let's give some other voters a chance! I don't get your premise at all, but you just keep pounding that talking point, if it works for you. I think the DNC wants to change the primary set-up, and I'm with them.

And I should become a Republican because I don't like the current primary set-up? gaaaaagggggh

[penguin7]

111. This is not really a close question.

NH and IA do get more influence, and so do the rest of earlier states.

But the candidates have a chance to get their message to these voters without raising hundreds of millions of dollars. Further, the candidates that are ignored by the media have some chance of reaching the voters in these smaller states without the blessing of the MSM.

If you have a national primary, it will require a huge sum of money and the MSM with their free advertising for particular candidates becomes a much more powerful force. These are Republican ideals.

Also the primary is not anywhere near locked up after NH, which is a good thing.

[WildEyedLiberal]

107. "blame Iowa and New Hampshire" for what?

Not being as oh-so-clever as you? Not picking your favorite candidate?

:eyes:

[wyldwolf]

3. He's the head screamer in charge of the echo chamber

[beachmom]

4. Who was pretty nice to your "gal". Love him or hate him, DailyKos,

and by extension, Markos, is a force to be contended with. I notice that Peter Dauo doesn't write such ridiculous posts.

[wyldwolf]

8. Kos has a history of playing fast and loose with the facts and making ridiculous statements

[smoogatz]

71. Like what?

[LittleClarkie]

16. It is his site, and not him, for the most part

He offers the service, and many people take part. It is a gestalt thing. He and his site would be nothing without the people who frequent it. Piss off enough of them, and he might find he doesn't have the influence that he used to.

[madfloridian]

5. Link?

.

[beachmom]

40. Here you go:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/9/114315/0309

[Rageneau]

6. I'm still wondering: "who decided Kos was the top Dem website"?

Seems to me it was the Beltway pundits and the MSM who one day decided that Daily Kos was THE web voice of progressive democrats. What's behind that?

I think there are at least a half-dozen websites that represent liberals better than Kos does. Many of them were here before Kos was and are more supportive of ALL democrats than Kos is.

So who decided that Daily Kos was the voice of you and me?

[pennylane100]

12. I think its because they get more hits than any other liberal blog.

I read it every day (or at least scan it).

[cui bono]

56. I find it difficult to navigate... any tips?

I go to the main page and never know where else to go on there.

[pennylane100]

62. I usually just read the commentaries that are posted

and then read the comments. I have registered there which may make a difference on reaching the comments, they are sometimes quite interesting. There are many notable people who comment, I think one of them was Elizabeth Edwards. Then I visit the Diaries located on the right hand side and read the ones I find interesting.

Hope that helps.

[beachmom]

63. I check the Recommended diaries, front paged stories, and recent

diaries. You can also use the tag search, if there is a particular Democrat or subject matter you like. Click search near the top right of the site.

Say you want to read any diaries about Russ Feingold

Search: tag="russ feingold"
Order: Time
Type: Stories and Diaries
Then choose the dates you want to check

I also agree with the above poster, that it's good to get a login, which gives you better viewing. The customs are a little different there, so before posting, you might observe for a while.

[cui bono]

83. Thanks. :)

[cui bono]

84. Thanks. I am registered, though I rarely log in. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

66. Simply because they were there first

I remember back in '99/00, DKos was a liberal oasis. Literally.

Sure, there was the Smirking Chimp and Buzzflash and Media Whores Online. I always like American Politics Journal. And of course, Bartcop.

But DKos was different. It was a true blog and had many contributors who were dead serious about fighting radical conservatism. And it seemed the really serious people congregated there.

So, they became the "entrenched" voice of liberalism. And they have a solid core of fans and readers.

I think that when Markos became the celebrity star about 2 years ago, he lost his edge. All of a sudden, he started worrying about his site's image and worried less about it's impact.

These days (to me), it's become an impossible to follow juggernaut with multiple diarists who I can never remember. They write great posts, but the site itself makes it hard to follow any particular subject.

[truedelphi]

68. Radio America decided that also though

Probably has to do with the number of hits

[Turn CO Blue]

92. Millions of hits might be the reason...

The level of discussion is quick and written at the college-level. Very witty repartee on the snark diaries. They have some diarists who are out and out fantastic.

[leftchick]

7. easy...

there is this....

http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do

I can not figure out the link. Here is the content...

"As an organization their heart is in the right place. I’ve never had any problem with the CIA." -- Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, June 2, 2006.

Hat Tip to Stu Piddy, and cross-posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, owner of the DailyKos website, now admits that he spent six months in the employ of the US Central Intelligence Agency in 2001. In a one-hour interview on June 2, 2006 interview at the Commonwealth Club, Moulitsas, also known as "Kos," admitted that he was a CIA employee and would have "no problem working for them" in the present:

QUESTION: Not long ago, liberals loathed the Central Intelligence Agency as the enemy of democratic governments and they installed dictators around the world, and these days you read the papers and people on the Left are rallying to the defense of the CIA and are indignant when the CIA is politicized. How did this come about, that suddenly liberals are championing the CIA:

MARKOS' ANSWER: I don’t know. You know I.

QUESTION: Do you find it stranger or ironic, this sudden love for the CIA?

MARKOS' ANSWER: You know . . . coughs . . . I think a lot of the people that did have problems with the CIA, I mean it was a very vocal minority.

[wyldwolf]

10. bad link

[TomInTib]

11. I got a Sorry, we were unable to connect

[leftchick]

21. I can not figure out why it won't work

Here is the content....

<snip>

"As an organization their heart is in the right place. I’ve never had any problem with the CIA." -- Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, June 2, 2006.

Hat Tip to Stu Piddy, and cross-posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, owner of the DailyKos website, now admits that he spent six months in the employ of the US Central Intelligence Agency in 2001. In a one-hour interview on June 2, 2006 interview at the Commonwealth Club, Moulitsas, also known as "Kos," admitted that he was a CIA employee and would have "no problem working for them" in the present:

QUESTION: Not long ago, liberals loathed the Central Intelligence Agency as the enemy of democratic governments and they installed dictators around the world, and these days you read the papers and people on the Left are rallying to the defense of the CIA and are indignant when the CIA is politicized. How did this come about, that suddenly liberals are championing the CIA:

MARKOS' ANSWER: I don’t know. You know I.

QUESTION: Do you find it stranger or ironic, this sudden love for the CIA?

MARKOS' ANSWER: You know . . . coughs . . . I think a lot of the people that did have problems with the CIA, I mean it was a very vocal minority.

[LittleClarkie]

33. Weren't the CIA working in our favor in 2001, leaking stuff

I know there was a purge at one point where Bush wanted all the "Liberal Democrats" out of there.

[NCarolinawoman]

36. The CIA has certainly been more Dem friendly since W ascended to the throne.

W's attempts to purge it and scapegoat it didn't quite work out.

That is why Rumsfeld tried to create his own private version of the Secret Service---- to manipulate intelligence.

[beachmom]

41. Unfortunate that the owner of MyLeftWing went on Fox News Radio to diss him, though.

We should keep our disputes in the family.

[TomInTib]

9. I haven't trusted him since I heard he is ex-CIA.

Having known quite a few Company men way back when, I never read any of his stuff.

[Gregorian]

13. Woah. I hadn't heard that one.

Ex-Republican, yes.

This kind of stuff bothers my head. My poor little mind. I just can't wrap it around some things.

Edit- Googles are coming up empty on this. I am finding that he applied, but not finding that he was an agent.

[TomInTib]

30. See this from leftchick

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3442606&mesg_id=3442711

[Cameron27]

19. I didn't know that, hmmm

[TomInTib]

31. from leftchick..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3442606&mesg_id=3442711

[beachmom]

42. I know he was in the Army. Persian Gulf War. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

14. Good question. He's also pretty sexist. nt

[LittleClarkie]

15. And dissed the peace movement for being a bunch of hippies

He's also pretty good at making things worse when he tries to address the ruckus that his previous comment has made. The follow up usually rubs salt on the wound.

[Major Hogwash]

35. He did? Seriously?

That's incredible. The people at the front of the peace movement are the veterans of the Iraq War!

[beachmom]

44. Really? I don't remember that. Do you have a link? And by definition,

he's part of that movement. It's why he started his blog -- he was against the Iraq War.

For the record, I just met him last weekend, and he seemed nice to me. I think he can't be totally trusted, but I like his site, which is quite versatile. I agree with you upthread that he no longer dominates opinion there, as the community also is a force to be reckoned with.

[LittleClarkie]

53. I think that you are right about the Iraq War, but he was making the point that

he's not anti-war regarding every war that it depends on the war. The point he was trying to make was fine, it was the way in which he decided to express it that went off. It was likely unintentional. He doesn't always think before he posts. But still he managed to offend some people. I remember some of the "hippie types" were quite peeved.

He did it again with the Gillian Island and the pie throwing advertisement... geez, I think that was it. It's been a while. Something in the ad struck some people as being sexist. Kos didn't see the problem, said something about feminists in the process and that just made things worse. And the followup, iirc, didn't help.

[beachmom]

55. You are SOO right about his follow ups. They always make things worse.

I remember he did this ridiculous post about David Wade's statement and heyjohn.org, for which people COMMENTED IN GREAT NUMBERS that he was full of shit. So he updated with what people were saying, pretending he was still right. Typical guy. That's why I'm glad that next year's blogger convention is titled Netroots Nation. I hope that DU gets involved, and quite frankly, that we get more women to come.

[Major Hogwash]

65. Well, I don't know if you remember what Kos said in 2004 or not.

But sometime that spring, I think it was in April, 3 Americans were killed in Iraq and their bodies were burned and hung from a bridge in Iraq and Kos said they deserved it.

I couldn't believe that shit.
When I found out later that he had been in the Army, I was totally repulsed.

Then last year he said that he didn't think the Democrats would take control of the House of Representatives in November, let alone the Senate.

So, after that, I just ignored whatever he had to say.
He's fairly ignorant about politics and was just out to sell a book last year.
I could care less what he has to say.

[beachmom]

67. Yes, he said an unbelievably horrible thing, and the Right uses it

every time his name comes up. The Kerry Blog immediately eliminated its link to dkos because, you know, what he said was so repulsive. And he held a grudge against Kerry ever since (in addition to his grudge that Kerry beat Dean in the primaries). I agree that he says a lot of stupid things, but his site has grown to be much larger than him. There are some really good diarists there, and I think it's worth going over there. But I concur with you that he is a flawed individual, especially when it comes to saying he was wrong or that he is sorry.

Once in a while he does have a really good post, but his work is uneven.

[MuseRider]

17. God, I thought I was almost alone

there. I never could stand him and never trusted him. He seems pretty much a beltway boy in progressive clothing as far as I can tell but then I only run into Kos stuff here and occasionally on TV. That is why I stopped listening to him or reading anything that come from that site long ago.

[LittleClarkie]

20. I liked it when Congresspeople posted over there

Certain diaries are fine. Kerry's posted over there, and so has Feingold.

But Kos is at the very least a very childish and narrow-minded man. He can have some good things to say, but then will ruin it all with some bit of sexism, or dissing of the peace movement or somesuch. It's okay to disagree. It's not okay to disagree and be insulting as well. He's been good at that.

When I used to post over there I found that while Kos would often stay out of the fray, if anyone posted a diary critical of Kos or the latest controversial comment, this person, name Raymundo I think, would come out like an attack dog. He'd argue that Kos could say what he wanted because this was his site and people shouldn't criticize the man since he was providing this great site to everyone. He's also be quite insulting. I used to wonder if that was actually Kos in a sock puppet suit.

[Adelante]

22. You mean Armando?

Armando can be brutal, but he's a different person from Markos.

[LittleClarkie]

25. Armando. That's it.

I know, I know. Just something that occurred to me. It's just that Armando could be such an ass.

[Adelante]

28. Yeah, he can be an ass, but always honest in his way

He's Big Tent Democrat now on Talk Left and MyDD. He's front-paging for Dodd at MyDD currently.

[beachmom]

45. Armando has broken with DailyKos. He became Big Tent Democrat

after being outed by the Right, and then after being a genuine jerk, and people calling him on it. put up a GBCW diary and hasn't posted since. I just clashed with him the other day on MYDD.

[LittleClarkie]

47. How was he outted by the Right? Outted as what?

I didn't hear about that.

You clashed with him on MYDD? Does that mean he's still being kind of a jerk?

[beachmom]

51. He's a lawyer, with clients including Walmart. He was outed a year ago

right at the time of last year's YearlyKos by the Right. He feared he would lose his job, so he tombstoned "Armando". Later he came back as Big Tent Democrat, which everyone figured out who he was.

He's just very blunt and abrasive. He's right, and you're wrong, always. I actually stopped posting or reading DailyKos in 2005 because of him, AND Markos's nasty posts about Kerry. But since then, it's gotten better, and I've gotten better making my arguments.

[MH1]

59. Armando aka Big Tent Democrat

could not change the style of his writing, that is why everyone pretty quickly figured out who BTD was.

"He's right, and you're wrong, always." - pegged him to a tee.

[fujiyama]

80. I think the fame and attention has gone to his head

It's obvious he has a considerable ego.

[venable]

23. I like the site. Why am I wrong? nt

[LittleClarkie]

26. The site is fine. The person who owns it can be an ass on occasion

You are not wrong, but the OP is not wrong either. The site is made up of all the people who post there, some quite good.

[beachmom]

43. Markos defended Kerry during the joke. Admittedly, that earned him

points with me. True, he doesn't like Kerry, but he lays off him these days. And in a very difficult time, he defended him. It's an improvement.

[LittleClarkie]

46. Yes, that made an impression on me too. Kos got a cookie that day

It took him a couple of years and perhaps Kerry showing up on Kos didn't hurt either. Kos has his moments of being alright.

[thunder rising]

24. Kos's little Nazi's have taken over the site

There are land mine topics that once tripped ... you're out.

$40 subscription ... simply confiscated with my login. (never ever talk disparagingly about illegal aliens. I don't mean like calling them name, I mean, well they are illegal)

This is more like the Dean for America Blog. One liners, snarks and a lot of fun.

Kos has taken his CIA training and is applying it to the Dem left. As you might know the CIA gets most of it's information from publicly available newspapers, magazines and now blogging, etc. The idea is to aggregate as much information as possible and from that make inferences about the target subject. So, Kos wants to be the analytical arm of the left.

The community has left, and the topics have dwindled into an acceptable handful; step off those topics and it's tinfoil land.

What was tinfoil in 2005:
1. Bush was spying on us.
2. Bush wants to broaden the war in Iraq.
3. The Republican party had an enormous machine to rig the elections.
There were others, but you get the idea.

So, hat's off to DU the tin-foilers of today, for they are the profits of tomorrow (at least a few). I still don't worry about my cell phone being turned on remotely; but I do worry about my Dem partners out there using commercial operating systems (just remember I told you first).

[LittleClarkie]

27. So the community isn't what it used to be? I reckoned that would happen eventually

esp. after some of the purges he'd conduct of users.

[MuseRider]

38. $40.00 subscription fee?

You don't get it back if you get booted?

Well, it is his site but after you pay you should at least get a refund for time not used.

I donate here every time there is a fund raiser and I expect that I would get booted if I stepped over the line. That is my understanding and by posting I agree with that but if I had to pay a subscription I would feel much less likely to understand being booted.

[thunder rising]

52. You have to be able to log in to get the ads removed.

I was working at a Navy site and over I paid the subscription so I could check out the stories over lunch without calling so much attention to what I was doing. No login -- no subscription.

[beachmom]

48. Well, some of it WAS conspiracy theories with NO EVIDENCE.

I mean, it's his site, and he didn't want it to turn into a conspiracy site. I think it started with 9/11 conspiracy theories, which he had no tolerance for. I still haven't seen a well sourced place for him being in the CIA, btw.

DU has done great work on the election, and now that the USA scandal has shown real evidence, it is now acceptable to talk about it there. DailyKos needs to be reasonably palatable to the electeds, so that's why he's fairly strict on folks making major accusations without evidence. I mean, anyone can say "Bush is spying on us". It took the NYT article to make it evidence based.

[cui bono]

58. What $40 subscription? I didn't have to pay that when I registered. n/t

[antiimperialist]

75. eom

.

[antiimperialist]

76. Kos is to the left of Hillary, Obama and Edwards. He's anti-Fox, and anti-war

Today he criticized DLC'er Harold Ford for appearing in Fox. Ripped Maine Republican senator Susan Collins for her support for the war in Iraq. Today Kos said everybody hates George W. Bush.

If that's a Republican, I'm a GOP'er.

[FrenchieCat]

29. I find the site to be neither here nor there, depending on the subject matter

and/or the time of the year (election year vs. non election year).

The Website is a "mixed" bag who have varying opinions similar to the various posters here at DU (not all here think like Skinner)....and so since the members don't all think alike, and since most of the diaries are not written by KOS but by members of the KOS site, there are very good diaries there, and some not so good, depending on one's taste.

In reference to Markos, he can be arrogant, childish, and opinionated.....but then, so can most of us.

I believe the site to be a good place to find out information as long as one is not searching for a progressive website that agrees with everything one thinks. Then even DU sucks in reference to this.

As far as him being an Ex-CIA agent or whatnot.......so is Larry Johnson, and many folks seem to trust what he says. :shrug:

[FogerRox]

32. I post @ KOS and DU

I dont read KOS or the front pagers very often, I do check out the regular diaries nearly every day. IMHO thats where the good stuff is.

[elizm]

37. Agree...Excellent diaries there. :) nt

[caligirl]

113. Iread the diaries too. i like them. Don't post because i am out of my league there. not as informed.

[Cameron27]

73. Yes you're right about the CIA,

but it took me by surprise for some reason.

I just read over there, but I've never registered. Some of the diarists are quite well informed; I remember one long (contentious) thread about hedge funds that was fascinating. I should register, if I ever feel comfortable navigating the site I probably will.

[thunder rising]

34. You just after the 2000 Selection and from then until

I saw Dean on the Democratic Debates in about Oct-ish 2005, I thought I was a closet traitor. I was so mad at the U.S.A falling for the lies (I knew they were lies anybody with at PC can count missiles).

Well I found out about the DFA blog and for the first time in my life donated money, and then actually went to De Moines Ia to help with the campaign. I found others that were just as upset (ranting mad) as I and I felt better that there was hope.

After the Dean's defeat I wondered around the wilderness of emptiness knowing that there must be a site out there that I just couldn't find. I ran across DK and at first it was like an extension of the DFA site, but then the rules started showing up. I lost "jnmorgan" over a rant about a ringer correspondent asking questions at the Congressional Debates for FL-16 (Folley's district). I ended up calling ringer a bitch and that was the end of jnmorgan. My login at DFA that was used at the bloggers breakfast in De Moines the day of the primary (caucus). "I am John Morgan and I am "the" JNMorgan. West Palm Beach, FL" And, it was gone.

Oh well.

I blog to give and receive support from a group of people that know we are watching a train wreck in slow motion. We are doing everything we can to stop it and we have been successful. But part of that success was being ranting mad, not polite. "But, sir I must object since the water shortages in Bagdad are like US sponsored genocide, killing everyone to force the population into cringing capitulation."

[Progressive Friend]

50. I've seen a libertarian/paleocon speak positively of that site

It was one of the writers at antiwar.com

[NCarolinawoman]

54. Does anybody know how many people are registered at Kos?

Over here at DU, the number at the top of the page is obvious.

[beachmom]

57. Getting toward 200K? Just a guess. This I do know:

A diary on the rec list can get as many as 600 recommends, and 1000 comments. There are simply more people active there than here. But we've got all the specialized forums. I like both sites.

[NCarolinawoman]

60. Thanks, beachmom.

By the way, I enjoyed your comment (at the DU video site) regarding General Clark's speech at the Kos Convention. You certainly must know that General Clark and his wife always spoke very highly of John Kerry. I think there was a genuine degree of affection and mutual respect there.

[beachmom]

61. Second to maybe Max Cleland, there was no greater defender of Kerry

than Wesley Clark in 2004. I think you're right about those two getting along well.

[FogerRox]

77. about 130k members

[mzmolly]

64. Dean argued for early primaries because he felt it was important to be unified early on.

:hi:

[smoogatz]

70. How is it a lame argument? Why should NH and IA's 4 million residents

have more say than California's 36 million, or New York's 19 million? He (or she) who wins the early primaries almost always emerges as the nominee; money and media follow early winners. Why should two small, predominantly rural states continue to control the process? I don't get it.

And I think you mean "Republican in DemocratIC clothing."

[Douglas Carpenter]

72. kos is not a "leftie" or a "rightie or a "centrie"

he is a pure opportunist. As much of a political chameleon as Tony Blair.

Who has somehow or other gotten it in his head that he is both gatekeeper and king maker of the Democratic Party.

[antiimperialist]

74. Kos is a Republican. Fidel Castro is a capitalist.. Exxon is pro-environment

Can you prove that Kos behaves like a Republican without simply citing one example?

[Turn CO Blue]

94. Exactly! Let's get some links and facts on this assertion!

[illinoisprogressive]

79. I don't see why it's bad he worked for CIA. so did Valerie Plame.

[DemBones DemBones]

81. You're right about that. Wish I could remember what I read

about him. Maybe it was that, like Hillary, he used to be a Republican.

[Vidar]

82. I couldn't agree more.

[Greyhound]

85. He's just another Republik that is uncomfortable with the current regime

so, like so many others, he masquerades as a Democrat. We have a bunch of them here too, so-called Democrats that hate all of the principles of democracy, fascists that prefer a friendly face.

He especially hates women, I've never seen one instance where he hasn't taken the anti-woman, anti-equality stance, on any issue that it is relevant to.

[riona]

88. I check the site occasionally

Wonder why they are on our blogroll and we aren't on theirs?

[Mutineer]

90. How does it give the rest of the country a say?

I'm lost on this warped logic. What it does is wrap up the nomination early for certain candidates (HRC) in a neat, tidy little bow and deprieve half the country (or more) a voice in the political process. That's why we keep losing elections.

[DaveinMD]

93. Republican in Democratic clothing

hogwash. You can disagree with an opinion without calling him a Republican.

[Turn CO Blue]

95. Need some examples and facts to go with this post, please!

Please post substantiation to Kos being a Republican with any Republican leanings.

And I, too, hate the fact that we start in NH and Iowa. It's a pile of crap for us Western-staters. My vote means just about nothing coming late in the season, and yet some rural people in NH and Iowa get to pick the candidate? BS!

[beachmom]

99. Markos was a Republican and voted for Bush in 1992. He has

since left the party in the '90s, and is now a Democrat. He's more Libertarian on economic issues, I think, but he most certainly is not a Republican anymore.

[Turn CO Blue]

102. I left the Republican party when I got into my 30s - people change

I had a huge, enlightening paradigm shift. I voted Republican earlier because that lined up with my religious worldview and training at the time. The fact that I had such a major shift in thinking should not invalidate my current political views. Same for Markos.

[Eurobabe]

96. Never really cared for him

He always reminded me of one of those inside the beltway blowhards. Pretty full of himself too. I think alot of bloggers who hit it big, think their are the shit.

Whatever....just my gut reaction from the beginning of DailyKos. :shrug:

[jefferson_dem]

97. Republican in Democrat clothing?

That's a totally ridiculous statement unless you have some details to back it up.

I don't bow at the Kos alter but i totally respect the positive influence the Kos forum and new media technologies in general has had on American politics.

...a critical cog in the wheel of *democracy*!

[AtomicKitten]

101. It the ever-changing vicissitudes of DU

... that make any person a villain one day and a savior the next.

I would think that would be obvious to most.

[PATRICK]

103. All I know is

he lost me with the gratuitous shutdown of questioning of the 2004 election. That put him squarely with the old line guilt trip left who believed defeat along the gullible moral values line. All of that failure by the left, by labor, by the stifled once more, multiply-robbed, black voters obscured the the obscure. That with all the known and reported violations, suppression and changing vote tallies Bush won 'anyway" without using the invisible means at his disposal. Invisible in that the votes were gone, never to be recounted again or hidden by crooked GOP SOS's who had learned from 2000 how to do it better. And TOTALLY ignored the last minute Palast warning that millions of Kerry votes were already trashed.

Trying to puncture this absurd denial and the rationalized guilt trips and the Bush fake legitimacy was much more shameful than 2000, when these types of Dems had to forget and bury the fact that we won. Trying to meekly puncture the myth with polls and further investigations never got anywhere. Instead of a few bullets in Dallas it seems many institution lovers could bury, forget, never look for even the graves of millions of ballots. Better democracy died than a simple lie be exposed. Better that the absurd fact that all the methods of robbing and stuffing ballots could actually be DISPROVED by exit polling. And who awards sportsmanship points for not talking about it?

[coco77]

104. The media always tries to tell the public...

who the Dems want or that we believe or go along with anything one of these bloggers says or does, I wasn't a follower of Dean and I will not vote for anyone the media or the bloggers tell me to vote for I research each of the candidates for myself and I don't believe any and everything they post. Everybody has an agenda.

I haven't decided who is my candidate I like a few of them but I really begin to look at a candidate even closer when someone makes it their duty to criticize them. I notice this whenever someone brings up Biden. I haven't decided who I will choose because we have a long way to go and there will be many mistakes,misquotes and suprise between now and next year.

[onewholaughsatfools]

108. Daily Koz is a great site

I read Daily Koz, Americablog, huffington, crooks&liers, rawstory, davidcorn,and of course DU, daily. I think all of them are great sites. Although I do not agree at times with what I read, I find more good in these sites than bad...What say you? .....blessings

[ShortnFiery]

109. Well put! Another massive egotist. All hype, no delivery. :(

[DFW]

110. I don't see him that way at all

I haven't met him in person, but we email back and forth
a bit. He does have an interesting background. Latin/Greek
parents, convert from the Republicans (so what's wrong with
seeing the light?), vet (the chickenhawks hate that), and
he is relieved as hell that that the Yearly Kos convention
is going without his name, so as not to have it become a
personality cult. Even the first one wasn't organized by
him. It was a group that used (with his blessing) his name
in order to attract attention, which worked. He gave a speech,
but the focus of the gathering was never Markos, and that was
how he wanted it. If Howard Dean, John Edwards (favorite of
his site), Obama, etc. all show up, it's not to stroke Markos'
ego--it's to connect with bloggers and like-minded potential
supporters, which, I'm told, they did. NET roots, indeed.
NetWORKING, too.

Sure, he tried to promote his book. So? Every author does. He
has to pay the rent like the rest of us. By the way, he lives
in the Bay Area, and does not frequent the East much, and certainly
not the Beltway.

He sometimes makes mistakes, and is opinionated. But that applies
to most humans I know, so I'm not fazed by that, either. He is
absolutely NOT a Republican any more, and it is stupid to maintain
that he is. Take him or leave him, but most of the people who post
on his site are pretty eloquent, and fun to read. They go about
things differently on that site, but they are not our enemies,
and neither is Markos.

[MalloyLiberal]

112. Yeah Kos is a real sweetie