Daily Kos Has Arrived

Markos Moulitsas and Susan Gardner of Daily Kos explain, in an op-ed at the Washington Post, how the mainstream acceptance of the group blog and its many citizen-activist/journalists has occurred and how the DLC, who I believed were advising Democrats wrongly in 2003, has consistently been off the center-mark for which they've represented themselves to be shooting. After seeing regular posters like Senators Russ Feingold and John Kerry, and then having seen Governor Eliot Spitzer at Daily Kos last week coming out to support our online community, these words ring true:

A new day is dawning for the progressive movement. The distrust between Net-roots activists and more traditional progressive players in the party establishment and issue groups has given way to respectful cooperation as we all adjust to new technologies and the promise they hold for institutional change.

I've met many of these leaders face to face. They know who I am. They know I'm not a crazy lady who sits in a dark basement with my pajamas on 24 hours a day (well - at least I don't do that every day ;) I've blogged for JohnEdwards.com, I've blogged for my city's online newspaper website, I've blogged for the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting alongside mainstream journalists. The leaders in our Democratic party have welcomed many of us into the center of their professional world and they understand how powerful citizen-activists can be.

A lot of our success, in blogging, has come from the simple fact that we are informed. We commit ourselves to being informed and that, alone, is a powerful tool because it allows us, individually and on a daily basis, to challenge the rhetoric that once slid past the ears of most people and left the discussion concerning the political realities to political junkies and concerned citizens on isolated barstools, street corners, and sitting rooms.

Not so anymore. We now have a home.

Most of us, including myself, aren't paid a thin dime for what we do. Why do we do it? Because we care. When we found one another and committed ourselves to this new community at Daily Kos, we became a force that is just now beginning to be seen for what it's been for the past five years. Under the radar, the idea for a new Democratic citizen superpower was fostered. The new creation has taken on a life of its own.

I'm Iddybud, User # 4869 on Daily Kos. I hear there are well over 100,000 users now, and I'm sure there will be more to follow.

Don't miss Markos Moulitsas on Meet the Press tomorrow morning on NBC.