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04/04/2004 Archived Entry: "Daily Kos, The Blogoshpere, and The Danger Of Getting Too Close"
Daily Kos, The Blogoshpere, and The Danger Of Getting Too Close
I didn't pay too much attention to Kos' remarks about the mercs killed in Fallujah last week, to tell you the truth. Just another blip in the bitstream, I thought at the time.
Well, not quite.
Since Kos made his remark (which he has since retracted), Rightards from every slimy corner of the web have turned it into a cause celebre, pelting anyone who ran a blogad on D-Kos with expressions of outrage, demanding that they pull their ads frothwith. In one very high-profile instance, it seems to have worked - Kerry's campaign has de-linked from Kos' site and publicly distanced itself.
Bad move, guys.
What is the Kerry campaign going to do now? Are they going to distance themselves from every blogger who shoots his or her mouth off from now on? Excuse me for saying so, but that does not seem to be very smart. They de-linked from Kos, which will no doubt affect their web fund raising capabilities - in more ways than one. Today, Atrios announced that while he would still urge his readers to donate to candidates, he is pulling down all donation pages set up in his name. Keep in mind - Atrios has raised over 125 thousand dollars for Kerry to this point.
Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I have to wonder why Kerry's people are so wary of upsetting right-wing bloggers. There's no chance in hell that Kerry will be getting any votes from them. So why knuckle under to an organized email campaign from people who will be voting for your opponent come November? It makes no sense.
As to how it all affects this blog...
I don't have any sponsors, and I never have. I'm generally regarded as a 'middle-tier' blogger, somewhere in the top 500 blogs on the web, depending upon which day you look at the ratings. I gave up looking at the blog ratings a while back, because I found myself obsessing on the ratings instead of just speaking my mind.
Just last week, I was considering setting up a BlogAds account, so that maybe I could make some pin money from something I devote a good amount of time to. But after seeing what happened to Kos, I'm not so sure it would be a wise move. I have the luxury of answering to no one here. Back in 2002, I was involved with a couple of Democratic Senate candidates' campaigns, and I was advised to add the disclaimer that is still on the pages of this blog to this day. It reads like this:
FINE PRINT: The opinions expressed on this site are those of the author, and are not endorsed by any major political party or organization.
You can't blame the DNC for anything I say on this blog, because I get no money from them (the flash ads I did for Shaheen and Townsend ended up being done gratis, because their campaigns apparently forgot to send checks after election day, which is another reason why I'm leery of doing anything for anyone's campaign at this point), and I like it that way. As a result, you probably won't be seeing any blogads on this site for the forseeable future. Let me hedge on that a bit - if I could get BlogAds from anyone who isn't a candidate for elective office, I might. I haven't looked deeply enough into it to know whether that's even possible to do.
But where Blah3 has a certain level of autonomy from being retaliated against, D-Kos gave up that autonomy in order to throw his weight behind Kerry. Let's be clear that I am not criticizing that move - I'd be proud as hell if the Kerry campaign could look at their contributions and see Blah3 as having generated even a fraction of the numbers Kos or Atrios have.
But I look at how Kos was summarily cut loose from the Kerry campaign and I have to wonder whether getting tight with them would even be worth it.
Honestly, the Kerry camp probably doesn't even know this particular patch of web real estate even exists. I don't even think I've generated much more than $100 in donations from this site, so it's a stretch to even imagine the likes of Instapundit bitching about what I have to say.
But I'm about saying it, not about cozying up to this or that political machine. I had my little dance with the DNC back in 2002, and it was more of a headache than any of you could possibly imagine.
Anyway, I'm rambling here. I back Kos, I applaud what Atrios did today, and I'm in awe of their fundraising abilities. But I'll say what I want to because this is my house, and if I don't get a check from BlogAds every month, so be it.
Replies: 5 people speak up
From the Agonist:
"After reading Atrios' nuclear post I believe I am going to institute the same policy. What the Kerry campaign has done is outrageous. Why is it that Bush is not held repsonsible for what Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and Ann Coulter have to say but the Democrats are held responsible for what Kos said. Something he even apologized for. It is a double standard. It's complete crap and it needs to end. I'll honor the contract I have with the current ad up but after that no more, unless some policy changes are made. This voice will not be silenced because of pressure from the Right or Left. Period. Advertising will not create a form of self-censorship on The Agonist.
Sean-Paul @ 03:52 PM EDT/
Posted by smkngman1 @ 04/04/2004 09:10 PM NY
Wow.
I refuse to hold Kos's remarks against him. I'm stunned that he would even consider retracting them. It's HIS LIFE, it's HIS EXPERIENCE that formed those thoughts and words, not someone else's. Even if I disagree with what he said--which I don't--he has to be able to hold and explain his own opinions.
How many Republican retards and blogger tools can say the same thing--that they grew up in a war zone? None. Not one.
It's Kerry's loss, pure and simple. It's definitely under the radar, but it won't be forever. Kerry will hear about this sooner or later and either make it up to Kos, or choose to ignore the situation.
But Kos is doing the smart thing--not making too big a deal out of it, and not making himself into a martyr or a scorned "former employee." He is taking one for the team, more or less, when he could be raising hell with Kerry, the warbloggers and everybody else who would dare claim that Kos's opinions are irrelevant.
They are certainly relevant. A direct parallel, and nothing but.
Later,
Posted by Daddy-O @ 04/04/2004 09:47 PM NY
You go, Daddy-O, and the rest of you sticking up for your right of thought.
Isn't this whole Kos Affair just another distraction from the point: Mercenaries. Mercenaries' deaths being avenged by Marines. And the idea that the deaths of Mercenaries are far more important than the deaths of soldiers and innocent civilians. Sure, their murders were brutal, and captured on film, but come on, nobody's dying a clean little death over there. And don't even get me started on the CW established with the help of the media that Civilain Contractors are some bunch of do-gooders helping rebuild the country or assisting the poor occupied people.
Posted by Vicki @ 04/04/2004 10:03 PM NY
Vicki,
Good point. As someone over at atrios said this afternoon - 'Why call them 'contractors?' They're not over there rebuilding kitchens.'
Seems like the mercs are just an illogical extension of bush's obsession about 'privatizing.' Only thing is, these guys are loyal to a company, not a country.
The trouble they could get us in is potentially deep, but no one seems to want to mention that.
Posted by editor @ 04/04/2004 10:26 PM NY
Yes indeedy, I certainly agree with you. I'm a registered independent, even though I look very left.
I think that the soi-disant Kerry blog made a mistake to dump Kos because wingnuts turfed them. I applaud Atrios for distancing himself while still suggesting support.
I'd rather have freedom of speech than have someone who would wail every time I said something blunt.
Scorpio
Eccentricity
Posted by Scorpio @ 04/04/2004 10:38 PM NY
