HAHAHA! No.
It's like herding cats at Kos. While there are factions that band together and get things done and money raised, and that power is growing (especially with all the media attention lately), people don't seem to understand that there are more than 90,000 registered users- and that means 90,000 different opinions and all that entails.
It's like one big, on-going bar conversation. Complete with the occasional brawl.
Fact: Markos is not a "kingpin". He has no control over these people- he might suggest things, but ultimately the mob will decide if he is right or not. Anyone who has witnessed the "pie fights" that go on will see that there are actually a bunch of people who don't even like Markos.
Fact: Daily Kos is not "left", it's actually very centrist. The "left" fled from there and calls us "sellouts". The real left hates Daily Kos and screams "DLC!" all the time...
A poster named Bob Johnson summed it up perfectly. This cat can write.
... but the very thing Markos has been both lauded for and derided for here -- having a laissez-faire attitude in terms of controlling what gets posted in the diaries -- undercuts the very notion that this place = Markos.
Besides, I and many others here took him to task recently for being too seemingly cozy with Warner.
These writers are ignorant. So ignorant, in fact, that they don't give folks here credit for being independent thinkers.
Here's a simple exercise for these lazy bastards... Review the archives of this site from the last Dem presidential primary season.
Even though Markos worked for Dean (fully disclosed), this place was a hotbed of vicious battles over candidates.
Here's what the uninformed media thinks:
Markos says, "Jump!" and we all shout, "How high?"
Here's what happens in reality:
Markos says, "I suggest that we jump," and about three thousand voices shout, "Fuck you!" and another three thousand voices shout, "Should we jump now or later?" and three thousand more voices shout, "Is jumping the right thing? What about walking fast, instead?" And so on.
So, note to the media: get off your dead asses and do some real reporting for a change. Not only on this place, but also on the corrupt, greedy criminals currently in charge of our government.
Thanks.
So go read the Newsweek article if you wish, but remember they have totally missed the point on what is going on here at Kos, and at other blogs, too.
This is not something anyone can control. This is the American people, the very diverse Democratic voice, all shouting at once, and it's impossible to shut them up or even get them moving in the same direction sometimes. We are not the lock-step right. What we have to figure out how to make that a strength, instead of the weakness that the right claims it is. It requires a total change in framing; embracing diversity as opposed to creating division.
There is a war looming... if Hillary gets nominated- Daily Kos blows up. You are going to see online fireworks like you have never seen before. My guess is- if they actually succeed in taking out Lieberman, she cozies up to the "blogosphere". If she's smart. And I think she is.
It's a brave new world, kids. Let's get ready to rumble.