I would love to hear about what brought you to this site and what you want to accomplish by writing here. This is my brief story.
I began my political journey in the environmental movement. Since I was a young boy I have had a special affinity for nature. In my early adult years that affinity became a religion of sort - seeing the infinitely complex natural world as the ultimate source of knowledge and inspiration. Naturally, this lead to a revulsion at seeing this precious ecology destroyed by the whims of man's greed.
My environmentalism though is not just spiritual. It is practical as well. One cannot separate human survival from that of the ecosystem. And so I decided to get involved. I worked for some major environmental organizations and one eventually gave me a job in Washington to lobby on Capital Hill. Young and naive, I set out to learn the ropes and change the world. I quickly realized, however, that Washington is utterly corrupted by campaign cash. And in a town where money names the game, our little environmental group was no match for Exxon and Dow Chemical Company's billions.
It was then that I had an epiphany. There would be no remedy for the environment or anything else that plagues this nation until the corrupting influence of money is removed from the political equation. And because that corruption rewards those already in power, there would be no remedy for the corruption unless it was demanded from the outside, by the people.
This lead to a catch 22. For the same forces who profit from the corrupt money system in Washington also control our main media outlets, specifically the television networks. I already had a background in psychology and marketing so I understood full well the power of television for preventing mass public demand for anything but more products.
So, there would be no remedy for the environment (or anything else) without campaign finance reform, and there would be no campaign finance reform without mass public demand, and there would be no mass public demand as long as the monied powers who benefit from the corruption control the media.
In chess we call this checkmate. But in 1988 something amazing happened. A politician from my home state, Tennessee, who I didn't much care for, published a book on the environment. And not only was it the real thing in terms of understanding the severity of the environmental crisis, it did something no other environmental book I had ever read (hundreds) had ever done before - it proposed a solution. Gore dedicated half the book to his idea for a modern environmental equivalent to the Marshall plan to rebuild Europe after WWII.
This was shocking. A Southern, senator had written an environmental manifesto the most devout tree hugger could embrace. Could this be the way? Could we really get a remedy from the inside? When Bill Clinton picked Gore as his veep candidate, I decided to get involved in my first political campaign. After the 92 election I was ecstatic. The thought that the person who wrote 'Earth in the Balance' was only one step away from the presidency filled me with great hope. Democracy had prevailed, the future looked bright. The world would be saved.
I don't remember exactly when it hit me that the Clinton presidency was an utter waste. Perhaps it was when he chose Dick Morris to be his conciliary. Perhaps it was later, when he passed the Telecommunications Act. But by the time 2000 rolled around, I was so disgusted with Bill Clinton that I almost voted for Nader. I didn't, of course. I remembered Gores book. And I have always seen great irony that a party that calls itself Green helped to derail the candidacy of probably the most environmentally conscious politician in history.
But I knew where they were coming from. With his New Democrat, Third Way (which was always just the conservative way dressed up like a pony) centrism, and whoring for every penny of campaign cash he could get his hands on, Bill Clinton did more to destroy the Democratic party and what it stands for than the Republicans ever could. Incidentally, one of my siblings worked for the Clintons in the White House. He/she resigned from the stench of their corruption and lack of anything resembling integrity.
So by 2000, I looked back on the Clinton presidency as nothing but a waste. Eight years had gone by and there was no movement on the environment. None. And then, to top it all off, Gore "lost". We were right back in that money-media catch 22. There would not be an inside path. The monied powers had won again.
At this point, I could have moved to a beach somewhere where they sell little umbrella drinks. But something interesting began to happen. All across the internet, political websites began to pop up. Mediawhoresonline was one of my favorites. Other would follow, each giving voice to the voiceless. And these sites became famous.
I had a vision. What if we could bypass the establishment media. What if we could build a mass movement online. The catch 22 would be broken. So some friends and I build our own political site. Other sites popped up. Before long, there were thousands of such sites. But there was a problem. There was no hub. No place to pull it all together to form a common movement.
That's when I stumbled onto Daily Kos. Markos had just installed Scoop, the content management software this site is based on. And it was incredible. A blog mall of sorts. People could post diaries and comments and debate ensued. This was to be the hub. I knew it then. If they would just get rid of the hideous orange.
Well, the orange is still here. I've even learned to like it. But I was right about it becoming a hub. And with the introduction of recommended diaries, we became a political force (before, everyone's diaries just scrolled away, no matter what).
So I've been here all along for a purpose - to help facilitate a mass movement to bypass the media and take back Washington from the corrupt monied classes who have overtaken our democracy.
And though I write about many issues, especially since Bush began his criminal presidency, I have not changed my main goals one bit - save the environment by getting money out of the political process.
Ironically, I haven't written as much about campaign finance reform as I should have. I do believe it is the one, single issue that has to be addressed before any other. We will never fix health care, energy policy, economic policy or anything else until our elected officials are freed of the shackles of campaign cash. But I, like so many here, saw an end around with online contributions. I wrote a piece back in 2003 called, 'If you want your country back, get out your debit card'. I can't find it now. But that was my sentiment then.
I do not believe we can buy our country back however. We can't afford it for one. And two, we just don't have the organizational structure to compete with the big corporate interests. They have billions to blow on lobbying and other methods. We do not come close, even in our wildest dreams.
So I believe our greatest strengths are our ideas. Think about it. The Republicans and the American right have had an almost infinite amount of money, plus a blanket of right wing media that covers the nation spewing lies and hatred. And yet, they can barely win elections on a good day, and just got destroyed on a bad one.
I got the number (800) of right wing radio stations from Bill Moyers. I gave each one a red circle that conservatively spans a broadcasting radius of 50 miles. Then I used Photoshop to spread them on a US map. This is what right wing radio looks like.
Can you imagine if the left had over 800 radio stations that blanket the nation with only our points of view? There would be no right wing in America.
So how do we win anyway? Because we are right. Our ideas are right.
Our power, more than anything, is the ability to spread those ideas. That's why I'm here. To try to help do that.
Sorry for the indulgent personal history. But I would really like to have a discussion on why Kossacks are here, what brought you here, and what you expect to accomplish from it. This is my story. I'd love to hear yours.