Mile High Kos
Caught the Crashing the Gates book tour (or, rather, the beverages down the street afterward) and got to hear Kos hold forth on whatever topics we could conjure up to pester him with. (I wasn’t there long and didn’t connect with Jerome; nothing personal; all props to MyDD.) A few takeaways, paraphrased and approved for blogging (nothing new, but bulleted for easy memorization):
• The left must build the message machinery to reach the public; it has to be in every medium and it should be in every state; anything less is simply conceding to the other side. Once voters see that Democrats aren’t simply trying to take away their guns, we can actually have a conversation about values. That should help undermine the politics of fear that has been so effective lately.
• The “seven minutes” that George Bush sat in the classroom after being told by Andy Card about the attacks in New York were a turning point for a lot of people, as they should have been. If Kos had been President, he’d have headed straight to New York; the staff would have said “No, you can’t go, it’s not safe.” His response: “Fuck it; I’m the president; I’m going. And if I get killed, that’s leadership!!”
• Listening to the handlers and consultants is killing campaigns at all levels. It killed Gore’s campaign in 2000 and if he runs again, the consultants will probably shut him up again. It’s been great to hear him lately, but it’s because he doesn’t care who he offends. Good leadership means offending people; you don’t see Republicans worrying about that. George Bush has proved that people will vote for you even if you offend them.
• Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer could be President; if he runs, Kos is going to stop blogging and move to Montana to work the campaign. (Hear that, right-wing bloggers? You could shut down Kos and all you have to do is vote for Brian Schweitzer.) Schweitzer’s not exactly a traditional Dem; for one thing he doesn’t want to “take away your guns”; why not? He’s got plenty of his own, he doesn’t need yours.
• Democrats have been campaigning with their heads not their hearts. People make political decisions based on tv commercials in bars where the sound is turned down on the set; it’s a gut thing. (Could be this have rubbed off during his recent visit to the Colbert Report.)
• Kos always forgets to close his tour sessions with “Please buy my book,” even though his publishers always beg him to do so. You can help Kos out here. Book reviews located there, as well.
Below, Kos and a few of us Colorado bloggers. Now there’s a guy you could have a beer with. In fact, we did. (Thanks to our pal who snapped the shot, and if any of y’all want to drop me your URLs, just send a note to bigink at gmail.)
UPDATE: More fun photos from the Boulder event at the indispensable Soapblox Colorado.
UPDATE II: Kos writes today in response to Tomasky’s American Prospect essay on Democratic philosophy and BooMan says the discussion has already moved elsewhere.
April 19, 2006 at 11:39 am
[...] Big Ink attended the Boulder event last night and presents some of what Markos had to say. Markos has more on the Democratic party philosophy today. [...]
April 19, 2006 at 5:13 pm
You know, every other blogger out there would have cropped out the others and just left you and Markos.
Oh, I forgot. Integrity.
April 19, 2006 at 5:46 pm
Ah, but this way, no one really knows which one I am! Ha-HA! Anonymity, thy name is Colin!
But, yes, I’ll be making that T-shirt of me and Kos soon.
I really wanted to spend more time with the folks who were there. I’ll be going to more Drinking Liberally events in the fall, for sure. Good people, these Coloradans. I’m glad to be one.
April 28, 2006 at 3:35 am
Who else but a bunch of whacko lefties would say the “seven minutes Bush sat in the classroom” after being told about the 9/11 attacks “were a turning point for a lot of people”? Unreal. Thank you for the excellent demonstration as to why liberals have done nothing but decline in numbers and influence since, oh, the past 20 years - according to Gallup and, of course, American voters. For the majority of Americans, the “turning point” was not Bush sitting in his chair for seven minutes, but the 9/11 attacks themselves. Let’s see, a president just informed of unprecedented attacks, or a bunch of Arab Muslim psychos overstaying visas and hijacking planes and killing flight attendants, pilots, passengers, and 3,000 people at work in buildings. Hmm. What was more of a “turning point”?
Falling at the feet of delusion-reinforcing whackos liek Kos will only make liberals more pointless.
If progressives are serious about ever gaining traction with the Amiercan people, they would be well advised to stop administering oral sex to politically irrelevant fringe nuts like Kos, and start some innovative real-world problem-solving they can actually sell to the voters in this country when it comes to actual elections. Otherwise, their side can probably do well in, say - uh-oh, I’d say most of Western Europe, except even voters there have been soundly rejecting progressive values lately, voting out leftist governments, and strongly supporting Bush-style anti terror measures. Strangely, Kos hasn’t got anything to say about that.
April 28, 2006 at 7:34 am
Hey! Welcome, Jaime! Thanks for your comments; it’s about time I earn my “whacko lefty” credentials!
You make a fair point: 9/11 was a bigger political, historical, cultural, ethical, and social moment than Bush’s “seven minutes.” But it’s a false comparison. The real issue is that, years later, when a lot of people learned about or actually saw the seven minutes, they felt compelled to revise their impression of Bush as a decisive leader-in-action. So, it’s a different turning point, in a different place, at a different time.
Though your imagery may not be exactly family friendly, I’ll admit to being impressed with Kos’ site. Hundreds of thousands of people discussing political issues, organizing, and participating in the democratic process? I know! So totally fringe! What were they thinking?
As for the voting out of leftist governments Europe, that would be a great topic to discuss! Which governments were you thinking of, exactly? (Seriously! I’m not following it as closely as I’d like. Please make a case; it’d be a valuable contribution.) Just skimming the headlines over the last couple of years, here’s what I’ve gathered: Italy? No. Spain? No. Germany? Not really (Merkel may be relatively conservative, but she won by a sliver). Austria? Not in 2004. Belgium? No, same. England? No, unless you call Blair a conservative, and maybe you have a point. The European trend, admittedly at a surface level, seems to be “close elections with strong anti-war sentiment.” Where’s the rightist wave?
Now, Canada: I’ll have to grant you Canada. But I’m presuming you’re not counting Canada as part of Europe.
While I sincerely appreciate your concern for the liberal movement (my appreciation is at least as sincere as your concern), it seems like you don’t have much to add besides a false argument and the words “oral sex.” I’m very appreciative, as I say, because my traffic should increase significantly now that that search term is embedded in the site. But let’s have a real conversation about the European political scene. I could use a strong, analytical, fact-based perspective on what’s going on over there; if you have facts in hand, you’re welcome anytime.