Clinton Supporter at Daily Kos: "This Is A Strike"

There is no doubt - some Democratic feathers are getting badly ruffled as the nomination battle between Senators Clinton and Obama increases in heat.

Some contributors at the flagship progressive blog, Daily Kos, now say they have had enough - enough, that is, of the ongoing 'Clinton-bashing' they claim to have encountered at the site.

One such writer, who goes by the pen-name Alegre, is now "on strike:"

I’ve been posting at DailyKos for nearly 4 years now and started writing diaries in support of Hillary Clinton back in June of last year. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that things have become progressively more abusive toward my candidate and her supporters. I’ve put up with the abuse and anger because I’ve always believed in what our on-line community has tried to accomplish in this world. No more. DailyKos is not the site it once was thanks to the abusive nature of certain members of our community.

...Sadly, the majority of the administrators have allowed this hostile environment to develop in our online community for anyone who isn’t planted firmly in the Obama camp. They’ve routinely ignored personal attacks and allowed disruptive, spam-like posts to go unchecked whenever anyone expresses support for Hillary or challenges something their candidate has said or done. There are however several front-pagers who have managed to avoid taking part in the attacks on Hillary and for that I’m grateful. But the site has grown to the point where they simply can’t - or won’t monitor it.

As a result, our community has become little more than an echo chamber with an attitude that harkens back to the early days of Dubbya’s administration - yer either with us or yer a’gin us, heh! The attackers and disrupters are no better than Chris Matthews with their sexism, hate, lies, and obsession with bashing - all - things - Hillary.

I don't read Kos much, so I can't comment on that site's current atmospherics. I have observed, however, that it has become quite unfashionable in much of the U.S. liberal blogosphere to be a supporter of Mrs. Clinton.

Some leading, progressive blogs seem very much to have involved themselves in a Rovian game of gotcha against the Senator from New York. The result has been a noticeable drop in the overall readability, quality and credibility of these sites.

Is it really now impossible to have a civilized, principled debate about the candidates on these blogs? If so, that is not a harbinger of good things ahead.

Frankly, I suspect the polarization we are are seeing is going to get worse before it gets better.

Quite a bit worse.

.......

UPDATE: March 16, 2008

Slowly, this story is going national.

See: Update on DailyKos Writers Strike from Alegre.

And welcome to MyDD readers.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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