Babes In Kosland
Best piece I’ve seen yet on YearlyKos comes from Ryan Lizza. Lizza manages to sum up the absurdity of the progressive blog world in two passages: the unmasking of Armando and the revelation of the egotism that feeds the Nutroots®:
[S]omeone is missing: Armando. A favorite blogger and foreign policy wonk, Armando earned the privilege of posting on the front page of Daily Kos. But, before the festivities began in Las Vegas, National Review Online revealed this hero of the liberal blogosphere to be Armando Lloréns-Sar, a corporate lawyer in Puerto Rico who has represented Wal-Mart and Clorox. Even though this information is a matter of public record, and even though Lloréns-Sar’s picture and affiliation are listed on his firm’s website, his unmasking sent shockwaves through the Daily Kos community and led Lloréns-Sar to quit the site–and, according to bloggers here, cancel his appearance at the convention, lest his pastime create a conflict for his employers.
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…[I]n many ways, it is a heady experience. How could it not be? When Mark Warner spends over $50,000 on a party complete with an Elvis impersonator, thrill rides, and ice sculptures; Wesley Clark hosts an open-bar soirée at the Hard Rock Casino; and Bill Richardson buys everyone breakfast, the so-called “netroots” start to feel a little special. SusanG sums up the heady mix of narcissism and euphoria: “It seems like every fourth person you run into is here covering the phenomenon of … us. We’re worth it, too. We are something else.”
SusanG, hiding behind her mask of anonymity, and crowing the whole day long. Excuse me, I’m about to get violently ill…
WalMart, I understand. What is the knock on Clorox? Whatever. This Armando event though is the Dem future in a NutRootShell. Sure, when he is unaccountable this cat can rant and rail with the best of them, kind of like the Dems on the war, but try to get anything substantive like, say, a Congressional vote or some ethical decision that might impact their livelihood and we see it is all so much cant. Whittle away the posturers from the True Believers and this rump 15% strong fades yet further. The Democrats are, today, the longest existing political party in history. History marches on. All good things must come to an end, Lefties. Most crummy things too.
That was a well thoughout-out story. I don’t pay attention to the daily goings on at Kos, so I was glad to see at least some of the folks there are saying, “Hey, wait a minute” at the prospect of being bribed by the Warner campaign with ice sculptures and free dinners.
Lizza makes an interesting point about the leaders of Kos being more partisan, while the rank and file are more ideological. Maybe one of the reasons Kos loves to talk about being partisand rather being being ideological is being ideological doesn’t pay the bills. But that’s what has driven so many people to his site in the first place. That strikes me as an inherent tension that’s going to be hard to maintain for a long time. We’ve got the midterms almost upon us, and 2008 coming on soon. Candidates will have to be chosen and compromises made, and most assuredly, money will change hands. I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of Kos schism comes about in the next two years.
Sure, they’re special – why, almost 1,000 of them showed up for their convention. Wow, that’s almost as much as…ahem, it’s as much as…
There are more people in the local Costco store here over a 24 – hour period than that number.