Decision ‘08

Of Course You Know, This Means War

Mickey Kaus had the greatest line on the Kos I have ever seen, and it bears repeating:

Kos is one of the few people on the planet with a personality so unappealing he allows Hillary to seem warm and enchanting!

Well, not only is the Berkeley Blowhard a grade-A jerk, he may very well be the most vindictive personality in the blogosphere. Kos has delusions of grandeur, and brooks no dissent (you run a successful website, okay? That’s it).

The latest sign of Kos’s sheer maniacal egotism, care of Little Green Footballs, is this:

…This is the modern DLC — an aider [sic] and abettor of Right-wing smear attacks against Democrats. They make the same arguments, use the same language, and revel in their attacks on those elements of the Democratic Party that seem to cause them no small embarrassment.

Two more weeks, folks, before we take them on, head on.

No calls for a truce will be brooked. The DLC has used those pauses in the past to bide their time between offensives. Appeals to party unity will fall on deaf ears (it’s summer of a non-election year, the perfect time to sort out internal disagreements).

We need to make the DLC radioactive. And we will. With everyone’s help, we really can. Stay tuned.

In case you just missed it, Kos has openly declared war on the DLC (and by extension, on Hillary and a host of other (comparatively) responsible Democrats). The DLC, of course, is the somewhat centrist Democratic Leadership Council. If you look on their web page, at their most recent convention, the following luminaries spoke: Tom Vilsack, HRC, Evan Bayh, Al From, and Mark Warner.

Hillary is also on the Leadership Team, and among the members of the Senate New Democrat Coalition are Joe Lieberman and Bob Graham. Of course, famously, Bill Clinton was a creature of the DLC, the same Bill Clinton that was the only Democrat since Jimmy Carter to win the Presidency.

And the Kos has just declared war.

Let’s let that sink in for a minute.

On one side, Hillary Clinton, Al From, Joe Lieberman, Mark Warner, Evan Bayh, and Bob Graham - and on the other…ahem…Kos.

Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming…Christmas came early this year.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m. central: Hey, Christmas really DID come early this year…thanks to the Instapundit for the link!…

UPDATE 2 2:36 p.m. central: More from Jayson at PoliPundit, who asks and answers:

Does the rational wing of the Democrat Party have the money, muscle and wherewithal to expunge the lunatic left?

I seriously doubt it.

Well, I suspect 2008 may be the election cycle where we at least begin to find out…

UPDATE 3 4:07 p.m. central: Jonathan Chait - Isn’t this really James Bond Villain/Dr. Evil type stuff? From the insistence that he has a foolproof secret plan, to the macho predictions that the enemy will beg for mercy and be denied, right down to the metaphor (”make them radioactive”–Bwahahahahaha!).

UPDATE 4 08/25/05: Iowahawk has recovered Kos’s previous draft…

52 Responses to “Of Course You Know, This Means War”

1 Carolynn Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
The nation needs two strong parties. This sucks.
2 BumperStickerist Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:14 pm
Radioactive?

Why not something more Gaia-friendly, like ‘Biomass’?
3 mhw Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:15 pm
Yes the nation seems to have thrived with two strong parties but if the democrats destroy themselves another party will take its place.
4 TC@LeatherPenguin Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:18 pm
It is kinda fun, watching him foam at the mouth…..
How can we wrangle Atrios into joing this little jihad?
PAGING MR ROVE…DARTH SITH LORD ROVE?…WE GOT A MELTDOWN IN AISLE ONE.
5 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:19 pm
For the record, I think we need two strong parties, too…but at some point, the Democrats are going to have to jettison the ‘Progressives’ to save their party…if Markos brings this on by self-destructing, so much the better…
6 Pete Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:29 pm
The US can handle a DLC type as POTUS now and then. I fear that if the Dems become captive of the left, eventually one of their guys will win. Sooner or later events will go their way. One Kos-ite becoming POTUS would do much more harm to the country than the occasional DLC candidate winning every fifth election. Imagine of we were saying “President Dean” today!
7 mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:36 pm
This has all the hallmarks of a religious group going out on a hill as they believe the ‘rapture’ is about to occur.

The ‘prophet of progressives’ will lead his people into the ‘holy land’.

Something this stupid will need money. Let me be the first to say, for conservatives and non-moderate dems, that this is exactly what America needs, and I will glady donate to his ‘outing’ of the DLC, for the moderates they are.

Funny that he is threatening to make the DLC ‘radioactive’, because it is a forgone conclusion that this will be his fate.

Please let it be the formation of a new politcal party.
8 Ring Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:40 pm
Personally, I think this is all staged.

By ‘declaring war on the DLC’, Kos has framed the DLC as the moderate wing of the Dems at least relative to the moonbat position Kos & Co. is holding.

I think it’s a way for the DLC, and therefore Hillary to crawl back from moonbat terratory by saying ‘Look, the moonbats don’t like us because we are so mainstream and centrist’. Elsewhere she is trying to appear as a centrist and I see this as another part of that plan for the presidency.
9 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:46 pm
I don’t know, Ring, it’s of a piece with all of Markos’s pronouncements over the years (save his recent ludicrous assertion that that Kossacks are pragmatic, not ideologues - guess he’s already forgotten about that one)…
10 Chapomatic » The Best Hope I’ve Seen Today For The Resurgence Of Two Viable Political Parties Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
[…] Kos declared “war” on the Democratic Leadership Council. […]
11 Some Guy Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
I would agree with the above prediction, that Kos is doing this purposefully to make the DLC look more reasonable…except for the fact that I’ve seen Kos’s work.

Seriously, maybe Kos has some great strategy he’s been saving for that “extra-special” election, but professionally, the guy is a candidate black hole. He is a firm believer and dedicated Marxist. Not simply a liberal, he is a flat-out Communist.

Something tells me Kos is incapable of compromising his socialist principles to further the agenda of moderate Dems.
12 _Jon Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
As someone who is unhappy with the Repub’s, I see such a split as a good thing. Because - if it happens - it will increase the likelyhood that such a split will occur on the other side of the aisle. I’m not a fan of only two parties. I’d rather see 3 or 4 parties, personally.
13 GM Roper Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Ring:

I think it’s a way for the DLC, and therefore Hillary to crawl back from moonbat terratory by saying ‘Look, the moonbats don’t like us because we are so mainstream and centrist

LOL, the same thought occurred to me.

The only mitigating factor is that it would take a higher degree of forward thinking to make it work, something methinks KOS and HRC lack. They are great at the short term stuff, but long term?

Who knows?
14 mark, the lesser Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/mb20050214.shtml

“So what hath the blogosphere wrought? The left blogosphere has moved the Democrats off to the left, and the right blogosphere has undermined the credibility of the Republicans’ adversaries in Old Media. Both changes help Bush and the Republicans.”

Limbaugh made his fame scraping the news for little tidbits of ‘liberal ideology’ leaking through MSM. Kos(and most of the popular dem blogs) provide the mother lode.
15 J.Kende Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:02 pm
3 or 4 parties is exactly what I would like to see also. A center-right, capitalist, tough on security and foreign policy, pro-freedom/moderate on social issues party; a social conservative rightist party; a progo leftist party; and a libertarian party would provide a much better range of choices.
16 Banjo Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:04 pm
Would someone explain why Kos’s blog has so many contributors? Is it like taggers and graffitti?
17 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
Banjo, it’s an ‘online community’ more than a blog, really…all the contributers are diarists…similar to RedState.org for the Republicans…
18 fatman Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:15 pm
Banjo:

More like cockroaches coming out at night after the lights are out. Anybody know the Orkin Man’s phone number? Or at least have a can of Raid?
19 billy Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
Heh.
Tom Delay is still a certified exterminator.
Maybe that’s why Dems hate him so much.
20 utron Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
I love the way this obnoxious little gila monster is so ultra-secretive about precisely *how* he’s going to render the DLC radioactive and untouchable in two weeks and counting. Given his track record, I’m going to guess that’s when he unveils his endorsement of Hillary.
21 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
utron, I love it! THAT’LL make ‘em radioactive…
22 DEPUTYHEADMISTRESS Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:02 pm
Maybe he’s going to unveil his own new political party and they will leave the Democratic party. An Exodus.
23 Chaz706 Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:03 pm
The Radioactive left has shown an uglier face…. if that were even possible.

BTW: I’m also a fan of calling them Biomass myself to be honest.
24 mark, the lesser Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:04 pm
“3 or 4 parties is exactly what I would like to see also.”

I used to think so too. Then I saw Chirac getting elected with 31% of the people, (which helps explain his 28% approval rating).

Multiple parties tend to create single issue parties, and they are extremists. Christian conservatives have been struggling to get a voice in the GOP, but offer them the Presidency with the need for only 1/3 popular vote and….

The two party system works because they oppose each other, but have to conform at the margins, for fear of losing their own base, and the INDEPENDENT voters. (The biggest problem is that the dem blogs are forgetting how to operate on the margins, weakening the democratic party.)

The decline of the Dems is bad for all. The Republicans don’t have to define themselves(and are adrift in some ways), while the Dems are seeking to stake out their positions, apparently ceding the margins.

Long term prediction if this is status quo?
Voter turnout in 2006, even with Iraq as an issue, will be down, significantly.
25 Geek, Esq. Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
The problem most Democratic activists have with the DLC isn’t that they’re moderates or centrists. It has nothing to do with ideology.

Rather, it’s the fact that the DLC’ers are eager to criticize other Democrats, but are timid in their criticisms of Republicans.

It’s not that they’re moderates, it’s that they’re wimps.
26 louielouie Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:23 pm
based on what i’ve seen of present day politics, i categorize myself as a constructionist. i trust the founding fathers philosophy of elections over what i hear from either side. the basis and formulas for election are not dictated by party affiliation.
party affiliation only breeds career politicians. career politicians breed what we have now. not minority elected presidents.
arnold kling at TCS gives his viewpoint in a recent article.

http://www.techcentralstation.com/082305A.html

i’m not so high on the “virtual” part, but his analysis of the lingering dissatifaction with the two major political parties, imo, is right on.
long tail, i don’t get the name either.
27 TallDave Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:30 pm
People forget we had a significant rightwing third party for two Presidential elections. That’s how Clinton won so easily.
28 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
Sorry, Geek, Esq., I’m not buying it…the activists declare war on the DLC, then say the DLC is too quick to criticize other Democrats? Anger is not a good way to appeal to the electorate…ask Howard “I Have A Scream” Dean…
29 Bill Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
mark, the lesser,

Absolutely. Like it or not the two-party system enforces something that virtually no-one on the ideological spectrum is particularly fond of: the formulation of coalitions. Absent that individuals tend to fall into an echo chamber of like-minded. When that happens, you end up with an entire voting public comparable to Kos.
30 louielouie Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:39 pm
talldave,
lest we forget ross perot.
31 BD Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 3:59 pm
If Kos is staging this to help the moderates, then he didn’t mean most of what he’s posted over the past two-three years; think about that … Kos has been plotting bogus, wild-eyed, mouth-foaming stuff for 2 or 3 years so, at the opportune time, he can ‘declare war’ on the DLC, thereby legitimizing it as ‘reasonable’ in …. 2005?

First, I think anyone who tried to pull that off would eventually give away the game - staying in ‘crackpot’ mode that long without being found out just isn’t likely to happen.

Second, the type of sick genius that could pull off something so diabolical (and time consuming) wouldn’t use all that credibility in the fall of 2005 - that would be stupid. If electing a DLC guy is the goal, they’d save the war for, say, the primary season of 2008.

Why not 2006? Because electing a few more senators or representatives isn’t worth all this trouble - and because the influence of a Kos/DLC war would be limited given the nature of House & Senate elections.

No, I think this is “real” - at least, it’s real in the mind of Kos.

As for the timing, I also think they’re planning a full court press on the Roberts nomination - they think they can whip at least 41 Senators into line in support of a filibuster & they want them to go down (if they go down) with guns blazing.
32 Dennis Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
I agree, Bill. And that’s what makes Kos’ war so pointless.

So Kos doesn’t like the DLC and wants them banished from the party. Where, exactly, does he expect them to go? Unless his super-duper-don’t-open-’til-Xmas secret plan to eliminate the ideologically impure involves railroad cars and camps, it seems to me they’re still going to be around to vote come 2006 and 2008.

Assume Kos’ dream is achieved and the Bayhs or Clintons or anyone else who doesn’t carry the requisite face spittle from screaming are no longer welcome in the party. Are they going to blindly vote for the Dems who just ousted them and treated them as lepers, or might some of them peel off and find themselves voting for their favorite Republican moderates, namely Giuliani or McCain?

Kos’ plan may, in a roundabout way, succeed in diluting some conservative power, by making moderates a more powerful force among Republicans. But given that it would leave his own constituents out in the cold, I’m guessing this isn’t what he’s hoping for. (Unless he really is a Rove plant.)
33 mark, the lesser Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
“Rather, it’s the fact that the DLC’ers are eager to criticize other Democrats, but are timid in their criticisms of Republicans.”

The problem that Kos is having with the DLC, is that they are smart enough to know the crediblity gap with Republicans on foreign Policy is the strongest asset the GOP has. In order to get elected the Dems have to be Republican-lite on foreign Policy.

I have no love for the DLC, but they are smart enough to know that you don’t make an issue out of your biggest weakness. Get elected and you can do whatever you want.
All Kerry had to do was echo everything Bush said on foreign Policy, and hammer home domestic issues(which the dems do extremely well on-not my personal belief) as it is their strongest set of issues. He would have won-(and America would have lost.)

Barring a Cheney run, Evan Bayh is the next president of the US. Red state governor (IN) who will bring in Ohio, with Armed services experience, Senate Select Intelligence, Two term governor, Senator…

He basically has the most credentials of ANYONE, (except Cheney).

And the DLC knows can do it.

Good hunting Kos, make sure he doesn’t survive the primaries.(Like he could stop it if he wanted to)
34 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 4:29 pm
I like it - a bold, unequivocal prediction - in 2005, no less! I salute you, mark, the lesser…
35 Steve White Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 4:51 pm
Interesting comments on Kos — he really is unlikable in his writing. I’ve never met the man so I don’t know what he’s like in person.

Our country has a multi-party system, but only two parties with the appeal to win big elections. Whenever we try to have a third party we get into trouble. Some writers above noted the Ross Perot issue, but this was a problem long before (e.g., 1912 with Taft, Wilson and Roosevelt; or 1968 with Nixon, Humphrey and Wallace). Introducing a third party with enough appeal to gain a significant number of votes allows edge politics to win. I’m not sure that’s good for our country in the long run.

Mark the Lesser notes the Kerry conumdrum. I’ve always wondered if the best way for the Dems to have won in 2004 was to start by thanking George Bush for the War on Terror, Afghanistan and Iraq, and then say, “While Bush won the war, he can’t win the peace. We can.” An appeal like that would have blunted a fair bit of Bush’s appeal with swing voters who want to be tough in the WoT but like some Democratic domestic ideas. Perhaps Evan Bayh understands this.
36 Smaack Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 5:27 pm
If the Dems self-destruct there will still be two parties. I think the only thing holding the Republican party together is the Democrats. If they were to become irrelevant, I think you would see the Republican party schism into a libertarian wing and a social conservative wing. Given that the libertarian wing would probably be more palatable to disaffected Dems, I would predict that it would become ascendant rather quickly.
37 mark, the lesser Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
His resume?
http://bayh.senate.gov/about.html

“Bayh currently serves on five Senate committees: Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance; Armed Services; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Small Business Committee.

Before his election to the Senate, Bayh served two terms as Governor of Indiana, where he established the state as one of the strongest, most financially secure economies in the nation. “Mr. Bayh’s record,” reported the Wall Street Journal in 1992, “is one of a genuinely fiscally conservative Democrat.” Stressing fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, job creation and lean government, Bayh’s list of achievements are remarkable: eight years without raising taxes; the greatest single tax cut and largest budget surplus in state history;”

and, gasp, he is a democrat.

It is worth noting that a few weeks ago, the bio was a third in length. If you read it, you’ll easily be able to guess what was added.

His line(that he should use)?
“No one else on this ’stage’(except Cheney,) is more qualified than me.”
He won’t run unless he knows he’ll win. He’s young. He can opt to wait.

The only questions I have are the negatives he will pick up along the way. Thank you Daily Kos/HRC cannot be on his ticket, (but if she was given the choice, she probably would jump at the chance). The left will have to accept what many in their party wish to call a DINO.

Politics aside, and I am a financial conservative, hawk, excuse me…a chickenhawk, who voted for ‘Bush’ four times, this is the one person most qualifed to run this country.

He has zero negatives, (the no vote on a Rice was an aberration). The primary might force some negatives out of him, the actual election couldn’t. But…he will be running as a DINO, but he is the perfect candidate to do so.

If and when he goes ‘wobbly’ to court the Primaries, I hope he can turn it back to who he is.

Don’t look for him to hit the shows soon(although you will be blown away if you are a moderate/independent), before he has to take ‘his’, rather than ‘a’ stand. (The previous reference is not to Chuck Hagel, wink).
38 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 5:55 pm
Well, mark, the lesser, I’ve said before that if HRC is derailed, it is Bayh or Mark Warner who is most likely to do so (both of whom, incidentally, got next to zero support in the last Kos straw poll)…
39 Sheila Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 6:50 pm
Just for fun I went to Kos’ website and read one of the “diaries”. It was written by some arrested-development type who used profane language, spoke of “pissing on” the Republicans’ punchbowl or something. Then at the end this loser said he longed for a civil political dialogue but those evil Repubicans won’t let him! I almost fell off my chair laughing. What an absolute lunatic! If and when these people launch their strike against the DLC, what does anyone suppose they’ll do? Stomp their feet and hold their breath ’til they turn blue?
40 mark, the lesser Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Do they have Dean in their poll?

He’d draw 50-60% with Kos.

Telling that he couldn’t break 20% in most any primary.

Says a lot about a minority inside a minority. They (the Kos community) were worthless to the party. They are so overstated in importance, it is sad.

Looking in my Crystal Ball…Kos’ big plan is…

a petition. (Remember that he does have a law degree, and he probably wants a carefully worded document that…

basically doctor evil, high on something, spouting off nonsense.
41 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 7:22 pm
No, they didn’t have Dean, and here’s the kicker: it’s because Markos ‘assures us’ he won’t run…
42 John Rieman Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 7:30 pm
Democratic Leadership Council. Isn’t that one of them thar oxymorons?
43 Gary and the Samoyeds Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 7:53 pm
Given Kos’ perfect record for endorsements, this bodes well for the DLC.
44 Clint Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 8:47 pm
I think I finally figured out what’s going on with KOS’s new super-secret plan to destroy the DLC.

I haven’t looked at the truth laid bear “ecosystem” in quite some time, and was bowled away when I looked at it earlier today. In my recollection from perhaps a year ago, Kos topped the chart by a factor of three over instapudit. Now Kos is in third, behind IP and (a bigger shock, to me — showing how out of date I am) Michelle Malkin.

How many blogger-links do you think Kos is getting out of his super-secret-war-plan? And how much more do you think whatever he does will gain even more attention?

He’s a nutcase whose candidates have always lost. Ignore him — he’ll hate that far more than insults.
45 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 9:02 pm
Clint, you’re on the right track, but you just barely missed it…the real story is how Kos has made me completely disappear from the Ecosystem! I had built up to about #280 (I thought that was pretty respectable), but ever since the changeover to the new design, I’m gone! (I’ve let N.Z. Bear know, but no response yet)….
46 Clint Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 9:24 pm
Mark

Oh, the Humanity! Will Dr. Kosevil’s dastardly plots never cease?

What’s the story with the new design? Did Kos drop because of a change in the criteria, rather than actually losing readers/linkers?
47 Fred Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 10:23 pm
I’d beat Kos’s super-secret plan goes something like this: They’ll run an alternate in every election with a DLC endorsed candidate. That way, under the “the worse the better” theory, they guarantee that every DLC candidate will lose (and if there is anything that Kos is an expert in its losing elections). Of course, a few more Republicans may be elected but any DLC candidate is just a Republican in disguise anyway. And the far left will be in complete control of whatever remains of the Democratic party. There may be some short-term pain but imagine the long-term gain (they will say).
48 Mark Says:
August 24th, 2005 at 10:51 pm
Clint, who knows? His traffic levels are still monstrous (supposedly, yesterday was their second biggest traffic day ever(???))….
49 mark, the lesser Says:
August 25th, 2005 at 7:29 am
How much of his traffic level is conservatives in need of a laugh?

I bet at least a third…

I check it at least 3 times a week, but interestingly, never off a link. Funnier and whinier than Doonesbury.
50 The Cool Blue Blog Says:
August 25th, 2005 at 8:20 am
Running to the Right of Bush

Democrats have some strategic problems to face as the 2006 midterm elections draw close. Two of the country’s biggest and most influential labor organizations, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union, have left the AFL-CIO, taking …
51 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Hate Mail? James Lileks Has You Covered Says:
August 25th, 2005 at 5:28 pm
[…] Here’s an excerpt from a recent missive I received after making fun of our buddy Kos (note: I did not ask the author’s permission to print this, nor do I plan to, but I did set up my email to automatically delete any further correspondence from this misanthrope): I stumbled upon your site quite accidentally through a quality-content challenged site called instapundit.com and noticed that you had something called jackasses and was surprised not to see the individual who I consider to be the jackassh**e of the millennium: W. Shrub. How could your pathetic little intellectually challenged site commit such a glaring and thoughtless mistake? I take it the next time I stumble upon your lame excuse for a blog you will have corrected this monumental lapse in judgement. […]
52 Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Kos: In 9 Days, I Will Declare War On…Myself? Says:
August 27th, 2005 at 2:10 pm
[…] It’s not a great surprise, then, to find the Kos speaking out of both sides of his gaping pie-hole. The infamous ’shot heard round the world’ is a mere 9 days away, yet Markos himself has prominent ties to the heretical DLC, or at least to one of its offshoots. Fundraising ties, of course. […]