With nothing more to go on, admittedly, than gut instinct (and the participation of such liberal-Democratic luminaries as John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Harry Reid—all of whom have written diaries for the website), I have been operating under the assumption that readers of the Daily Kos represent a vocal and powerful force in the Democratic base, those who vote in primaries and influence nominations, often at the expense of more viable national candidates. But an item in this week’s Weekly Standard “Scrapbook” stands that belief on its head. From “Polls Apart”:
In its January 31 straw poll of readers’ preferences for the 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, the Daily Kos reaffirmed just how far outside the mainstream the influential left-wing website’s readership remains. Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act when it was initially passed and a dream candidate for the far left, led all choices, taking in 30 percent of 11,117 respondents. While site administrator Markos Moulitsas allows that the count isn’t “a scientific poll of the Democratic Party rank and file, at 11k+ results it’s a pretty darn accurate poll of the sentiments of the Daily Kos community.”
Which is a nice way of saying that it doesn’t at all reflect the sentiments of his party’s base. The most recent national poll by the Associated Press/IPSOS of Democratic primary voters shows Feingold getting all of 1 percent of the vote. The most popular choice in the AP poll? Hillary Clinton, at 33 percent. She received only 3 percent of the vote in Kos’s straw poll.
Almost makes you wish Kos and crew were more influential. At least, if your goal is to keep the reins of power away from progressive Democrats…
I do wish they were more influential, but you really can’t ask for much more than they’ve already delivered. The Alito filibuster was comedy gold, and something we definately have to credit a Kos Kids tantrum with.
I really wish they had convinced Cindy! to challenge DiFi’s Senate seat, but as long as they’re able to “shame” Reid, Kerry, Clinton et al into moments of pandering lunacy every now and again, I’ll take what I can get. I just hope they keep it up–and ramp it up–as we get closer to the election.
The Daily Kos is a unique caricature. What was once an entity, is now only a parody of itself.
Ha! In your face, Weekly Standard! Beat you to it..
DKos actually is growing more influential, to the great detriment of the Dem party. Their main effect will be to cause unelectable candidates to win primaries.
I’ve always thought that KOS had only a few dozen readers, who logged on and commented under thousands of handles. They could do that, because there is nothing else to do at those “institutions” where they are housed.
In the spirit of Daily Kos, some friends and I will be having a little bit of fun this next election cycle. We plan on leasing a storefront space here in Huntington for one month. In the course of one night, we will fashion this storefront into the “Official Communist Party Headquarters.” The glass will be littered with Communist Party Candidate Posters.
– Storefront Lease – $500
– Phoney Candidate Posters – $100
– Bullshit Communism Pamphlets – $50
– Public Confusion and TV Coverage – Priceless
We may stage a speech in full comrade attire. Perhaps a debate if the fraud is not exposed too quickly.
From your lips to Allah’s ear. Wait, that’s gross…
Increasing the visibility and prominence of the left’s spokespeople is the best possible tactic for those of us on the right.
Draft Cindy Sheehan to run for President.
Get Amanda Marcotte a national radio show.
Get Kos on every American desktop.
And so on.
i think the daily kos readers represent a bunch of followers from the left who have nothing better to do than imagine they are part of something meaningful (guess what? they are not). one question though…
*At least, if your goal is to keep the reins of power away from progressive Democrats…*
is THAT your goal?
Isn’t the 2004 Dem primary “surprise” repeating itself?
A vocal minority had Howie Dean as the front runner up to Iowa. The MSM—NYTimes, WashPost, Time, Newsweek, etc—were all gushing about what a super candidate he would be, and then the steam went out of the engine once the average Dem voted.
Kinda like how a vocal minority (in the liberal media) attempts to determine what news Americans should see. The voices the media hears isn’t the average Dem (or even GOPer), just the same themes bouncing around in their tinny, cocooned, echo chamber.
Unfortunately her voice is pitched so that only dogs can hear it.
tw:cold-> yes it is.
But … but how can the Kos Kidz be so wrong? Haven’t they “bought and paid for” the Democratic Party?…
Don’t let this stuff stop anyone from saying that the democratic party has been taken over by its extremists.
actus,
The Democratic Party has been taken over by its extremists: Howard Dean is chairman of the DNC, and 2004 nominee John Kerry has written a diary at Kos.
However, the Democratic voter has not. Gary’s point is that you need to separate the hype from the votes.
Of course, if the leadership of the Democratic Party keeps going this way, the votes will go elsewhere.
He also wrote an op-ed for the WSJ, but hey, that’s just pandering.
Somewhere, deep under Washington D.C., in his secret cavern, Karl Rove cackles hideously.
He does no such thing. He chuckles softly and rubs the head of the white cat, then sets the animal on the floor and picks up the next dossier.
Yglesias, now…
Regards,
Ric
Yes, but actus:
The WSJ is not populated by paranoid group think junkies, who spew obcenities the way a spider extrudes silk and perceive Kos’ words as if they were the Manifest Truth of God Almighty. I like Taranto but do not read him for his next golden utterance or Revealed Truth.
Well, i’ve never been in their op-ed room. But I wouldn’t be surprised it was just a bit saner than a moonie convention.
WSJ is a mainstream publication. Writing to it indicates no signs of lunacy, really. But to write to Daily Kos, one has to go out of one’s way, really, to pander to its readership. Were it not for hanging out at conservative blogs, I wouldn’t even know what Daily Kos is. I was actually quite surprised (and disappointed) that Kerry would pander to the Kossacks – if this is way of reaching out, he has not learnt anything from his loss. And the Democrat(ic) Party needs to redo its public image. The current portrayal seems to be of a party slowly being taken over by possessed lunatics.
Daily Kossacks = $$$ and a built-in attack mob when needed. John Kerry’s first Kos diary was about Chris Matthews’ coverage of the OBL speech, and Louise Slaughter has written several diaries there asking to keep the pressure on Matthews, and there has been an organized attempt to boycott his sponsors. We can see what Kerry’s and Kennedy’s call for pressure on Senators to filibuster unleashed.
The sad thing is watching much of the press follow their ridiculous memes- Gannon, Sheehan, Wilson worship, Murtha-will-save-the-Dems- as if they have real news value.
The mistake is that the press and the Kossacks- and some Senators it would seem- assume that community represents the tip of the iceberg. I’m certain that in this case, it is just a chunk of floating ice.
…in possesion of the Marxist holy grail – “Willful ignorance”…..
-natesnake – What would make the whole thing perfect is if you could get someone like LurchKerry to be keynote speaker. He could give a slide show on his “gernade-in-ass” war strategies. CNN could cover it live. His ketchup slut wife could recount life in Mozambique, when her daddy founded the communist party FRELIMO. You could end the evening by burning that form 180 on camera…
People who think the Democratic Party is using the likes of Kos and MoveOn could not be more mistaken. I’ve never met a MoveOnBot who had anything but contempt for the Democratic Party and I feel confident Kos feels the same way.
Both groups see the Democrats as a way to get their message out to a broader audience. When that stops working, they will abandon the party faster than Kirk Kerkorian dumpped the stripped MGM…
Yes, perhaps you are right. I believe however, that it is the party being used (made it’s bitch?) by the perceived influence of the said groups. You can not deny that they are exceptionaly vocal and have the media induced influence with which to nudge policy or strategy further to their liking.
Examples as mentioned earlier include Howard Dean (not only his early lead in the 2004 primaries but also his subsequent election as party chariman), the attempted Alito fillibuster (yes, procedurally an attempt to deny cloture, but this is semantics), and now the pandering of Kerry, Gore, Pelosi, and Kennedy.
The Mother Sheehan canonization has been an ongoing travelling circus feeding the Kosacks and et. al. with a feeling of self worth which in turn emboldens their cries for a seat at the table.
Therefor, moonbat groups are not being used by the Dem party, but have begun to impact it. The party is enamored with theatrics (the real reason I belive many dream of a Hillary campaign), and the louder a group is, the more attention it creates for itself, the greater lielyhood it will be heeded. These groups are, for the time being, the loudest echo in the chamber.
TW mother: Oh Cindy…
Actus says…
You’ve got me there. I’ve never been to a Moonie convention. What’s it like? Do they have punch and pie? More people show up if you offer punch and pie.
Were you there for the workshops, or did you have a press pass?
Actus: Cripees! What wouldn’t be saner than a moonie convention? That’s not rhetorical or meant to be inflammatory. You truly seem to have intelligence but why is it wisdom escapes you? Again, I’m not trying to be a smart ass.
…He then opens a cage, removes one of the white mice, pats it until it is calmed, and places it on the floor. He watches the cat stalk, pounce, kill, dissect, consume; with zenlike satisfaction as he contemplates the cat’s predatory perfection.
Well, that’s what I’d do, anyway.
Forest Hunter, without meaning to put words in actus’ mouth, he may have been trying to draw a parallel to the Washington Times. I’d give him points, but no cigar.
Actus is a male?