Update on DailyKos Writers Strike

Wow – I never expected this kind of a reaction to my declaration of independence from DailyKos last night but it seems I wasn’t the only one who’s sick and tired of being sick and tired over the hate, ignorance and hostility directed at Hillary and her supporters.  Now I won’t link it here as I normally would because I don’t want to drive traffic to the site, but my post made it up on to the Recommended list with over 60 recs, and well over 1200 comments posted (good, bad and meta). I hear they eventually had to shut off comments for fear of the site crashing because of it all.

First I want to thank everyone who signed on to our strike.  This will only work though if we stick to it and stay away from DailyKos, guys.  No lurking.  No peeking in.  No tipping, rec’ing, commenting and for god(dess) sake – no diaries.  They get no traffic from us.  No ad revenues.  Not until they stop the hateful attacks, misrepresentations of Hillary and her record, and outright lies about her long record of dedicated public service.

I think it’s important for us to thank Jerome for providing us exiles with a calm and reasoned place for us to exchange ideas and discuss the important issues of the day.  He not only left up my cross-post here knowing I was calling for a walkout from his friend’s site, but he went and recommended my diary over there to tell everyone that he agreed with what I was trying to do – bring attention to the poisonous atmosphere in the hopes that DailyKos will one day return to it’s roots by promoting all good and decent Democratic candidates.

The best way we can thank Jerome and the others here at MyDD is to keep it cool when we post here.  Try out best to ignore the spammers and haters, and follow our candidate’s example by sticking to the issues and staying out of the flame-wars.

And if you haven’t yet joined our new Yahoo discussion group – Hillary’s Voice – I’d like to extend an invitation to all of her supporters her to join us in our effort to get the word out about Hillary’s terrific record of public service over the past 35 years.  We set this up about a month ago and we already have about 260 members in our group.  Just send us a request to join and we’ll get you set up.

Hillary’s Voice

Now I’ve gotten quite a few emails over the past 24 hours.  Some are from the haters who say eff you I hope you all die but hey, I expected that.  I won’t bother posting them here but I think they draw a sharp contrast between Obama’s and Hillary’s supporters.  I don’t know about you but I would never think to send a nasty note to someone simply because I disagree with their choice of candidate.  Apparently, his supporters saw fit to send me nasty notes though (one guy even sent several!).

But I’ve also gotten some warm and wonderful notes from people hoping to join our “strike”.  I thought it’d be great to share a few here…

A sincere thank you for standing up and saying what needed to be said over on DailyKos!  I’ve been a longtime reader of the site (never registered, and never read comments), and I have become dismayed by what has happened to the discourse on that site – both in the diaries, and more disturbing, on the front page.  A front page post several weeks ago attacking – of all things – Chelsea Clinton’s appearance put me over the edge once and for all and I haven’t visted the site since…at least not until today when I saw your diary linked to on Realclearpolitics.com…the only political news site I now read.  

The mainstream media has its drawbacks, but I simply couldn’t stomach the rabid anti-Clinton rhetoric and HRC witch hunts underway on that site. I am deeply disheartened to see “Democrats” treating other Democrats that way.  To see people (indeed, commissioned “diarists”) on that site openly question one’s progressive credentials simply because they support a different Democratic candidate, well, its enormously upsetting.

I wish you all the best, and would love to continue reading your posts in another forum.

I too have been appalled by the left wing’s anti Hillary invective. It is sad, but I believe true, that throughout the civil rights movement, just like the fight for women’s suffrage, the “enlightened” men still maintain their patriarchal prerogative to deny women the first seat at the table. During the civil rights movement our brothers denied us an equal voice, and as you know, the feminist movement was born.

I have not forgotten that Fredrick Douglas, a black man, insisted on putting the rights of black men to vote ahead of women’s right to vote, effectively splitting the abolitionist’s and suffrage movement in two. Men always seem to say, let us go first and then we will help you. Then they don’t. This has rankled me since Senator Obama began his campaign. I also find him condescending when he address’s anything about Senator Clinton. There have been too many instances of character assassinations from his camp that exemplify deeply held sexist beliefs.

I left reading MSM information a few years ago, but what I have been subjected too about Senator Clinton has been disgusting. Then I discovered that the left blog, news, and magazines has had the same type of Hillary hate that the right has had. I keep thinking that it is just the same old crap,that has been around since recorded history. They talk a good game until a Hillary steps forward and then men, and the women who imitate them, will do everything they can to keep women from the top roles.

I am, frankly, sickened by it all. It makes me feel that radical feminism needs to be revived en mass and re-taught to our young sisters, who are ignorant and in denial, and re-acknowledged as a continuing struggle by all Americans.

Thank you for your principled stand against Daily Kos. It needed to be done.

Blessings and Peace,

I have been commenting at Eschaton for a year and a half as Tacitus Voltaire. Recently, like you, I notified (privately, not publicly like you did) some of the prominent posters there that I could no longer bear to hear the incessant drumbeat of Hillary hating and vilifying that cannot be stopped even there, despite the best efforts of myself and some senior commenters there. Criticising is one thing – but there is a difference between saying “I think Hillary is going over the line with this remark” and “This vile spew proves yet again that Hillary is nothing but a republican and unfit for public office. I will never vote for her if she is nominated.” To me, it is as if these progressive blog commenters, Big Ed on Air America, Chris Matthews, and Keith Olberman, have suddenly become demonically possessed by Rush Limbaugh, and have started to issue the kind of hate filled rhetoric against a democrat that formerly we have only heard from the right wing hate machine.

I found a link to you manifesto on Talk Left, where I have retreated as well. It made me very happy to see that even a prominent Kos commenter such as yourself has come to the same point of view. At Eschaton, some non-Hillary-Haters have taken to calling Kos The Daily Obama. Normally, our affectionate nickname for Kos at Eschaton is The Great Orange Satan.

Please count me among the supporters of your “J’Accuse” manifesto! The progressive movement and the Democratic Party can and will survive and overcome this incubus of hate that can only have Karl Rove chuckling in glee. The ideals we have inherited from great progressive presidents such as FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and the better side of LBJ, are too securely ingrained in the fabric of what it means to be an american to be obliterated by this internecine disaster.

You have made an important contribution to an important debate. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Lastly, I thought I’d update you on who’s picked up on our strike.  This isn’t the be-all and end-all of lists, but it’s a start.  If some of these sites are new to you please visit them now and then and let them know our strike’s still going strong!

The Caucus – New York Times Blog
Blogtalk: Pro-Clinton Bloggers Boycott Kos – Also linked at Real Clear Politics.

Brad Blog
Writers Strike at Daily Kos? Try a Readers Strike…

No Quarter – CrossPost
Writers Strike at DailyKos

Tennessee Guerilla Woman
Writers Strike Against Hillary-Hating DailyObama, aka DailyKos

The Confluence – River Daughter
Welcome Union Members

Aaron Shaw’s Weblog
Writers Strike at DailyKos?

Taylor Marsh Cross-Post
Writers Strike at DailyKos

Marc Ambinder (The Atlantic Magazine)
Pro-Hillary Writers “On Strike” At DailyKos

Tom Watson
The Left Splits: Writers Flee DailyKos Over Clinton-Bashing

(See also – Tom’s terrific post The Few, the Proud…the Clinton Bloggers

Broward’s Blog
Writers Strike at DailyKos

Jake Tapper (ABC Blog)
Clinton-Obama War Creates Serious Tensions at DailyKos

Wise Law Blog
Clinton Supporter at Daily Kos: “This Is A Strike”

Raw Story – CrossPost
Writers Strike at DailyKos

The Moderate Voice
Daily Kos “Bloggers’ Strike” Shows Increasingly Bitter Obama Clinton Democratic Rift

Tech President
Pro-Clinton Writers Go “On Strike” at DailyKos

Poli Gazette
Clinton Democrats Have Had Enough

Town Hall.com
Schism on the Lefty Netroots

BlueMass Group
Pro-Clinton Writer “Strikes” at DKos

Ben Smith – Politico
Clinton supporters on DailyKos get tired of the abuse  See 4th Item Down Links to dKos Diary.

We’re also getting some coverage from the MSM out there.  Check this out…

Fox News Covers Our Strike – Transcript

Well, some of the loudest language in politics these days is found on the blogosphere … now several contributors to the liberal Daily Kos Web site [THEY SHOW IMAGE OF DIARY -- and scrolling down the diary to the signatures ] have said “enough is enough,” and have posted that they are on strike so to speak. The Hillary Clinton supporters claiming that site administrators allow abusive and hostile language directed at Clinton and her supporters. They say they’ll stop blogging on the site and won’t return unless the conditions change.

Well that’s it so far gang.  Keep up the great work and remember to check out our discussion group at   Hillary’s Voice.

And if it’s been a while please please please (!!!!) make sure you send Hillary some love…

DONATE NOW!

Thanks and remember to steer clear of DailyKos.

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Also posted at MyDD.com.