What's up with Kos? Why is he anti-filibuster?

[wakemewhenitsover]

Reminds me of how he was the first to insist that those who thought 2004 was stolen were "tinfoil".

[fooj]

1. Where'd you get that?

I just read one of his posts and he said this is the most united he has ever seen the Dems...even the DLC is calling for a filibuster. Am I missing something?

Peace.

[CoffeeCat]

4. The DLC is also calling for a filibuster?

I went to a movie tonight, did I miss something?

Is the DLC on board, too--with additional Senators who will vote 'no' on cloture?

Thanks for any info!

[madfloridian]

7. The DLC is not for a filibuster. They posted an article against it.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=131&subid=192&contentid=253692

"Democrats in the Senate, and elsewhere, have no obligation to help Bush redeem this divisive campaign pledge. Given Judge Alito's long and consistent record of conservative activism on and off the bench, it is prudent to oppose this confirmation as a matter of principle, reflecting the gravity of a lifetime appointment to a closely divided Court.

But we stress this last point: in the Senate debate on this confirmation, Democrats should focus on Alito's judicial philosophy, and discard the personal attacks that figure so prominently in some of the interest-group campaigning against his confirmation. Such attacks at best distract from the principled case against Alito; at worst, they undermine it.

For the same reason and others, we do not think Senate Democrats should try to filibuster this confirmation. A filibuster is certain to fail; indeed, the Senate is certain to respond to a filibuster by outlawing them permanently in judicial confirmations. Using this weapon now would stake Democrats to the implausible argument that Alito's inevitable confirmation is the most egregious act of the Bush administration and the Republican Senate, going into a critical midterm election"

[fooj]

13. This is where I got the info...

The media narrative
by kos
Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 03:32:40 PM PDT


Atrios:

The Democrats are a bunch of losers, as are all of their supporters. Bush and his giant codpiece looked magnificent at the state of the union, and Mrs. Alito was very happy and smiling sitting next to Mrs. Bush safe and content now that the magnificent and mighty President Bush made that bad Ted Kennedy go away.


The Democrats shocked Washington today by holding together, dropping a mighty turd in the punchbowl of the Bush administration, dealing a deadly blow to his nomination of Alito. The president won't be too happy tonight as he gives the 2006 state of the union speech.



The media narrative is everything. It frames every issue which the media addresses. Bush is already drowning, hovering in the high-30s, low-40s.

Do Dems give Bush an easy victory, or do they throw him an anvil?

The irony? This is probably the most united I've ever seen the Democratic establishment, that is, Democrats without offices in the U.S. Senate. Even the DLC is calling for a filibuster. Center, left, right -- all corners of the party agree.

There is no excuse. Read the posts below to see who needs calling.

<snip>

I don't know KO's well enough to really know what his thoughts are one way or the other. I just read this post and then a short time later I read this thread. Thought I'd share...

Peace.

[caligirl]

14. link please?

[fooj]

16. Oops...sorry.

http://www.dailykos.com/

peace.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. ?? "tonight as he gives the 2006 state of the union speech."

The speech is on Tuesday.

WTF? :shrug:

[fooj]

18. I think it was a "prediction"...

by Atrios.

Peace.

[Halliburton]

5. he said that it was ok for dems to let alito get confirmed

in an earlier post. I don't think anyone really agreed with him.

[Halliburton]

2. I don't know, the rest of his site is against his position

and haven't taken his advice.

[wisteria]

3. I think he is playing the antagonist to draw in more readers to his blog.

IMO, everything is always just about KOS.

[FreedomAngel82]

6. And doesn't he also

have this whole hate relationship thing with Kerry? Wasn't he a big Dean supporter and mad that Kerry won?

[WildEyedLiberal]

9. He was paid to promote Dean in the primaries

He hates Kerry for a myriad of imaginary reasons, and I find it delicious that it is Kerry who is sticking his neck out for America while Kos continues to pontificate about strategy. Kos is a huckster and a fraud and is finally being exposed as such.

I doubt Dean would approve of Kos's handwringing, seeing as Dean came out in support of Kerry's filibuster today. Kos nurses grudges that everyone else (save a small but delusional faction of people who cannot get past the primaries) has forgotten.

[WildEyedLiberal]

8. Because Kos doesn't give a shit about ideology and conviction

All he has ever been concerned about is "strategy" and "winning." He doesn't give a damn about issues or how moderate/centrist/liberal a candidate is; he only cares about rhetoric and speechifying and "electability." His anti-DLC rants are just a bone thrown to his mostly-liberal readers; Kos's rabid support of pro-life moderate Casey should put to the lie the misconception that Kos actually cares about DLC vs. liberals in the party.

As wisteria said, Kos is all about Kos. Now that he's a recognizable figure in the mainstream media, he is fearful to jeopardize his status by throwing his weight behind a risky measure that might lose - ie, the filibuster. It's especially ironic since Kos claims to support Democrats who "stand for something" instead of "following the polls." He is what he claims to hate - a pundit obsessed with polls and strategy whose opinions are determined not by what is right, but by what is "in vogue."

I find it supremely ironic that Kos is relentlessly negative about John Kerry, claiming him to be such a politician, and yet while Kerry is courageously leading a risky filibuster, Kos is talking about long-term strategy and saving our political capital for "another fight." What other fight, Kos?

Kos has finally been hoisted on his own hypocritical petard and I couldn't be happier.

[hang a left]

15. Take a bow

[cosmicdot]

10. fwiw ... he's a NewDem "Fellow"

DLC ---> newdem.org ---> New Politics Institute

http://www.ndnpac.org/npi/npifellows/


I don't see any major filibuster activism at newdem.org while Democrats and concerned citizens across country are breaking their necks and pouring out their souls to save our country.

If there are DLC/New Dem/3rd Way sites supporting Alito's filibuster, do provide the links.

[WildEyedLiberal]

12. Well, fuck me sideways!

Kos, the man who declared "war" against the DLC? A New Democrat?

Further and more glaring proof of his naked hypocrisy.

[caligirl]

11. In Kos's own words, he isn't against it.

Joining The Filibuster Movement
by Armando
Sat Jan 28, 2006 at 11:16:13 AM PDT

A couple of days ago in his post Reality Check, Markos wrote:

I'm not saying "don't filibuster". I'm saying, "the math is not good. We need to make it better in the future". Personally, I'd like to see a little fight on the part of Dems, and the way to do that is to filibuster.

The reality check has not dissuaded the daily kos community from fighting for the filibuster.

Among our elected representatives, Senators Kennedy and Kerry are leading the charge.

The odds are long, but the issue more than worthy.

I support the fight this community has started and join it.

Let the chips fall. As Abraham Lincoln said:

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the Government nor of dungeons to ourselves. LET US HAVE FAITH THAT RIGHT MAKES MIGHT, AND IN THAT FAITH, LET US, TO THE END, DARE TO DO OUR DUTY AS WE UNDERSTAND IT.

* Permalink ::
* Discuss (260 comments)

http://www.dailykos.com/

Scroll down to the bottom of the page.


Also another comment by Armando at kos: "Site "leaders" like Markos are in favor of the fight. People like me are in favor of the fight. But it is the community, spontaneously and indomitably, that is fighting the fight. It is the community that has linked with committed elected officials and their representatives to continue to fight that fight."

[hang a left]

19. And let's not forget banning

9-11 discussion.

[GRLMGC]

20. Because he's a tool nt

[Dagaz]

21. If you lose you're still a loser

even if the fight is right. Reality is that people elect winners and this is a loser and we don't need to have a big L stamped on our foreheads. I think Kos is calling for those who have dignity to hold the chin high and fight for another day.

[WildEyedLiberal]

22. Horseshit

The only losers are those who are too cowardly to take a stand for our fucking democracy. If not now, when? What other day? We've been "waiting for another day" since November 2000. I'm sick of waiting. The time is NOW.

[orleans]

23. thank you. and very well said--all your posts on this thread. n/t

[WildEyedLiberal]

26. Thanks! n/t

[PBass]

24. Pretty limp endorsement of the fillibuster there...

I did read Kos' original post about how "the math is not good" and thought he totally misses the point. This isn't just about winning or losing on Alito, it's about Democrats who are willing to fight for the things they believe in. Those who won't fight on behalf of Democratic values don't deserve to be in leadership positions.

Those of us truly in "the grassroots" are sick and tired of Democratic WIMPS, sellouts, and apologists holding office.

It's also about not allowing Alito to ever be called a "bipartisan appointment". If Alito is as bad as we fear he is, Democratic leaders must be able to say "We tried absolutely everything we could, to stop Alito". Democrats must resist sharing the responsibility for what Alito might do, as a Supreme Court justice.

[John Q. Citizen]

25. You never saw "Cool Hand Luke, did you?

[WildEyedLiberal]

27. Waaay before my time

What's the reference?

[PBass]

28. There's a prison card game, the pot keeps getting bigger

Paul Newman bluffs, and everyone folds. George Kennedy demands that Paul Newman show his cards... "He's got nothing!"

Paul Newman says "Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand". (and that's how he gets his nickname). Great movie.

However I do believe Democrats have PLENTY of good cards.. for one, look at Dumbya's piss-poor poll numbers!!!! If Democratic Senators aren't willing to fight on this one, then I think we should assume they are probably never going to fight on anything.

[WildEyedLiberal]

29. Ah, thx for explaining

And I agree, the time to fight is now. I cast my lot in with the senators who are choosing to do what's right instead of what's popular.

Welcome to DU btw! :hi:

[John Q. Citizen]

33. My reference of the movie was a different one.....

although the card game scene was as pbass explains.

Looking at the thread it appears I replied originally to you instead of Dagaz, who I meant to reply to about his "losers are still losers" post.


The scene I was talking about is shortly after "Luke" arrives at the prison camp and the local top dog prisoner is George Kennedy. Luke won't buy into Kennedy as his overlord. Kennedy decides it's time to clean Luke's clock. So there is a fight scene between Luke and Kennedy. After some early reciprocal damage, Kennedy is kicking the crap out of Luke, but Luke keeps getting back up, and getting knocked down again. After a while the other inmates and Kennedy himself are pleading with Luke just to stay down, but he won't. He keeps getting back up and fighting. And keeps fighting until he's unconscious.

Well Luke loses the fight but in many ways Kennedy never actually wins the fight because Luke wouldn't surrender. All the inmates look at Luke as something of a hero because he flat out refused to just roll over. Even George Kennedy. Kennedy doesn't try to pull shit on Luke again after that, and the power dynamic between the two shifts to one of equals. Nobody wants to mess with someone like that because they respect them, and they respect that it's not in that persons nature to let themselves be punked by someone else just because they are bigger and heavier.

Great movie, great writing and acting.

Who was it who said Democrats need a narrative?

[LittleClarkie]

30. I think he's like Will Pitt. He just doesn't see it happening.

Whether he wants one or not. I don't think I've seen him be outright against the idea, though.

Kos is oddly centrist at times, which is weird because he hates DLC with a passion.

But he also tends to be undiplomatic, sometimes in the extreme. He has been insulting to anti-war protesters (hippy dippies) and to feminists (women's studies types) I've seen him try to explain a comment that got him into trouble, only to make things worse.

He has a nice site there, but occasionally seems to forget it is a group effort, where his posters are nearly as important as he is. Without them, he'd have nothing.

He has an immature streak sometimes. He can be pigheaded. And he can put things badly.

You take the rough with the smooth with Kos.

[Justice Is Comin]

31. He's also in favor

of Tim Kaine giving the response to the SOTU and that makes no sense either. Arianna is stunned that they would choose him and so am I.

We need a flame thrower like Murtha or of that calibre. They want to talk security, let's put a noose around his neck with it. But not with Tim Kaine. Who the hell came up with that idea?

[QC]

32. Because he's a witch! Burn him!!! Burn him!!!