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I feel an odd obligation to address the Democratic presidential candidates’ withdrawal from a Fox News-sponsored debate. After all, Kos is my beat, and this story is about him.
The first story I wrote for the Weekly Standard, the one that provided me entrée into the hallowed halls of the punditocracy, was titled “Taking Kos Seriously.” I wrote the piece in February of 2005, ten short months removed from Markos’ infamous “screw them” moment. I concluded the article by saying, “Moulitsas leads an influential movement, a movement whose influence is likely to grow even larger.”
My thrust was that Markos Moulitsas was trying, with no small measure of success, to take over the Democratic Party. Left unsaid was that given the lameness of the pre-existing Democratic poobahs, the party was there for the taking.
TWO YEARS LATER, we can say that Markos’ progress is evident. As of this writing, he is arguably the most influential person in Democratic politics. Don’t laugh – if you think that notion is risible, tell me another Democrat who wields the power that Kos does.
One thing that people should realize is that Kos’s ascendancy, however improbable it may seem, was no accident. This was his plan. He correctly noted the weakness and ineptitude of the Democratic Party’s power structure. He determined that it had to be supplanted. He nominated himself to replace it.
His rise has been marked by carefully selected battles. For instance, he went to the mattresses to get Howard Dean installed as DNC chair. On the other hand, he took a pass on a Paul Hackett-Sherrod Brown conflict; even though Hackett was a hero to the netroots, The netroots lacked the muscle to help Hackett beat Brown in a contested primary. Markos wisely took a pass on that potential race and rapidly developed a new-found fondness for Sherrod Brown and his commitment to progressive politics.
For the past two years, Markos has been accruing power and wielding influence. He has had two primary agendas. One has been to better the Democratic Party. The other has been to accumulate as much power for the netroots as possible. Some cynics think the netroots’ sole agenda is the naked aggrandizement of power. I don’t think that’s the only thing they care about, but they certainly seem to care about it a lot.
SO ABOUT THIS WHOLE STUPID NEVADA DEBATE CONTROVERSY: It was a power play. It was one of Markos’ well-chosen battles that allowed him to demonstrate his power. Yes, the entire Democratic presidential field looks pathetic for bowing to the irrational wish of a blogger. But it doesn’t make the blogger look ridiculous. It makes him look like a king-maker.
The knock on Markos used to be his record. In response to the claim that he was a king-maker, it was easy (and fun) to say, “Name the king.” But times have changed, and so has the netroots’ record. The prevailing sentiment in the Democratic Party is obviously that an ambitious pol isn’t going anywhere without the blogosphere’s approval.
At the end of the day, it’s my humble opinion that the netroots’ power is vastly overrated. But leading Democrats perceive things differently. And in this case, their perception is the reality.
Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at Soxblog@aol.com.
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