Rapidly Losing The Netroots
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Miscellanea | The Great Netroots Betrayal — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
I used to think that it would not be fruitful to quote or link to Glenn Greenwald. But I was wrong. The man is a veritable canary in the coalmine for anyone interested in checking out the state of the netroots.
Today's post indicates the depths to which the netroots have been betrayed by their allies in political office and in the mainstream media. Not only are people like Barack Obama cowering--and yes, that is the right word--in response to netroot calls to resist the FISA reforms that are currently on the table, but pro-Obama forces in the media are enabling the cowering (while entirely disregarding their previous statements against FISA reforms) and they are turning a deaf ear to netroot concerns regarding the legislation. Shows how much the netroots matter, nyet? If Greenwald and his allies were half the political force they once might have thought they were, at the very least, the mainstream media would have done a better job of reflecting netroot concerns on an issue as important and as emotional as FISA legislation. But no--the netroots are completely and entirely thrown under the bus on this issue. Their anger, outrage, objections, concerns and arguments are utterly and completely meaningless as far as Obama, the Democratic political establishment and the mainstream media are concerned.
The only time the netroots will regain even a patina of respectability in the eyes of Democratic politicians and any of their enablers in the mainstream media is when people like Barack Obama need money. Then the sweet-talking will come hot and heavy and the netroots will be told over and over and over just how important and needed and wanted and loved they are.
But when it comes time to discuss and shape policy, they will be banished to the little kids' table.
Must be humiliating. Oh yes. Yes, it must.
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Rapidly Losing The Netroots 2 Comments (0 topical, 2 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
...and you were always so excited because she spread 20's around the house like they were nickels and let you eat whatever you wanted?
Then, after a couple of days, you noticed that she kinda smelled funny. And she snored so loud that you could hear her through the walls. And you didn't want to be seen in public with her because her gas was not only noxious but horribly unpredictable. And she'd always say things that embarrassed you in front of your friends while you were trying to act cool.
Well, Netroots, you are now Barack's grandma.
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"We want great men who, when fortune frowns, will not be discouraged." - Colonel Henry Knox
I think I realized this week that it's an illusion when the candidates appear to be equally centrist in the last few weeks before the actual general election. In the primary season, the candidates are exploiting the most activist voters and then there's this gradual slide back towards a political center. I knew Hillary would have no choice but to govern from that position but I think Obama understands it now, too.
As an aside, I'm not convinced the most active netroots number enough to make Ralph Nader a real spoiler.
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