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Monday, January 25, 2010

If the Left Netroots Are Not Part of the Solution Then, Like It Or Not, They Are Part of the Problem

What BooMan Said
It seems to me that the progressive blogosphere is useful to the Democratic Party and liberal interest groups [when it functions as] a free source of media counterinformation to the crap the corporate media spews out on a 24-hour basis. But, [it seems] the progressive blogosphere is actually more concerned with amplifying critiques of the Democrats because the Democrats are unwilling and unable to feed and tend to their base. So, we're now more a part of the problem than we are part of the solution. [Note, he said "more," not "only." --d] Some people have a degree of self-awareness about this situation, but the majority do not. Yeah, it would be great if the Democrats were more willing and able to do the types of things we advocate, since most (but by no means all) of the advice we provide is solid. But since they're not doing it, we're just piling on and helping to demoralize the troops.

This isn't a recommendation of uncritical enthusiasm for Democrats who are doing so many stupid, wrongheaded, lame things at the moment, as I expect it will be taken to be in the usual manner.

But it is a reminder that activism is a matter of education, agitation, and organization.

When we are talking about the partisan politics and legislative processes through which actually-possible most-progressive sausage is made by the guys we ourselves elected and are responsible for, however distasteful and disappointing they are, in a world of monolithic Republican obstructionism, shaky majorities, and media minsinformation, [one] our criticism, to be helpfully informative, to be usefully pressurizing, should remain a bit more, let's say, educational in spirit when it is directed to those who are closer to our side than their opponents are -- [two] our critical organization should generate pressure to do better, rather than divide and demoralize to no practical purpose, it should remain keenly mindful of tactical realities and the differences between the short and the long term, the practical and the ideal -- and when [three] criticism, even valid criticism, takes on the coloration of agitation it is very easy for it to amount to functionally abetting opponents whatever it calls itself given the structural reality of two and only two actually-possible political parties, one of which happens to be literally dangerously and criminally insane however lame the other one is.

At least that's how it seems to me. I think the left netroots (to overgeneralize) in this time of Democrats rather than Republicans in power is just as righteous as ever, but less helpful than it should and could be, and frankly kinda sorta has to be if there is to be any hope for our country.

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