I think I’m going to engage in a bit of “armchair psychology” here. But first, let me spell out my qualifications:
1) I once took a single course in psychology.
2) I know very little about the subject of this piece, reading his work very occasionally.
3) Most of what I know about him is what his detractors say.
4) To refer to this as “rampant speculation” would be slanderous to rampant speculators.
OK, with that out of the way, let me delve into the psyche of one Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the guy who runs (sort of) Daily Kos. This is prompted by his latest lurch into looniness, his vow to destroy the Democratic Leadership Council in two weeks.
Now, let’s take a look at some background here. Kos is not just a blogger. He has a “day job” at Media Matters, and he has a sideline of political consulting as well. Kos has endorsed and/or worked for 16 candidates, and those 16 candidates all share the distinction of having lost. Further, his campaign to get Karl Rove to resign after his speech to the New York Conservative Party went exactly nowhere.
I’m starting to wonder if Kos is addicted to losing. If he has this tremendous lack of self-esteem, and feels the need to reinforce his sense of inferiority by constantly latching himself to losing causes and doomed agendas.
Let’s look at this purely objectively. On the one hand, we have Kos and his track record of consistently losing elections. On the other hand, we have the Democratic Leadership Council.
Out of the last 10 Presidential elections, the Democrat has won exactly three times. The first was Jimmy Carter in 1976. But let’s face it — with the stink of Watergate still hanging over the Republicans, Lyndon Johnson probably could have defeated Gerald Ford, even factoring in the handicap of Johnson having been dead for nearly four years at that point.
The only other two Democratic victories were with Bill Clinton, a product of the DLC. I’m not aware of Kos spending much time attacking Clinton’s administration or record, but again I don’t read him that much.
So, here we have a group that, somehow, actually managed to get a Democrat elected president. So, what does that mean? THEY MUST BE DESTROYED! Kos sounds an awful lot like how a lot of the left depict Karl Rove here.
So Kos says that, in two weeks, he will announce his Great Plan to destroy the DLC. Further, he spells out the theme of his attack — smearing and besmirching them, rendering them so “radioactive” that no one will dare touch them or be around them.
Threats are stupid things. Detailed threats are even dumber. Detailed threats with deadlines are quite possibly the dumbest thing since “hey, what a cool statue of a horse our enemies left us! Bring it in here!”
I see two likely outcomes to Kos’ little threat. The first is that, at the last minute, he will “allow” himself to be dissuaded from unleashing his vast powers and turning the DLC into a smoking, glowing ruin. Instead, he will announce a new “alliance” where he will work with them to elect a Democrat in 2008 — the “alliance” consisting of Kos making a few gestures, and the DLC saying polite things and making vague noises of gratitude while paying a voodoo priestess vast sums of money to keep the Kos Kampaign Kurse from claiming yet another victim. A pity that Miss Cleo is out of business.
That’s one outcome. Another would be that Kos will go back and delete the threat and pretend it never happened. That’s his modus operandi — it’s what he did when he looked at the slaughtered American contractors whose bodies were strung up from a bridge in Fallujah. Kos, as you might recall (I bet he doesn’t), called them “mercenaries” and proclaimed “screw them.” It was only after he started losing serious ad money and consulting contracts that he issued a half-assed apology, then deleted every trace he could get his hands on that he had ever said it.
No matter what happens, though, one outcome is guaranteed: vast entertainment for a lot of people. I think I’m gonna nuke up some popcorn and enjoy this show.
Update: Cousin Oliver points out in the comments that he, not Kos, blogs for bucks for Media Matters. Kos is a free-lance whore, not an in-house prostitute. My apologies for the error.
So, if that’s the extent of your corrections, Oliver, may I presume the rest remains unchallenged?
Update 2: Note to self: the quickest way to get a response from Cousin Oliver is to discuss his finances, apparently. I guess it really is all about the Benjamins.
I’ve always tended to view him as being the Napoleon Complex of the blogsphere, thrown in with a dash of Delusionsal Perception and Megalomania.
one of the more unusual aspects of psychology is that it is often based on faith. The study of how people think and react is not the most scientific of studies due to our personal reactions and aspects to it. When dealing with the mind, ( defined here as the union of the brain and the body) it is harder to think outside of the box. We are the box. So for those who say that they don’t understand psychology. I say that they probrobly understand it quite well. They just may not realize it.
as such, your opinions on him are as justified as any well thought out opinion can be
I don’t think he’s addicted to losing, I think he’s desperate to succeed at anything and since he can’t win he’ll settle for making the other guy lose, no matter who the other guy is. He can’t help a ally win an election, fine, attack Rove, oops, that didn’t work, look for a softer target, the DLC. It must really suck to be that pathetic, I doubt he’ll leave a scratch on the DLC. He’s an absolute failure with a history of nothing but absolute failures. He’s not addicted to losing, he knows that yet another failure will prove to even the wackiest moonbats of all that he’s a loser that will never make a difference in anything. The just don’t matter. If he or any other other moonbat was capable of success why would they spend so much time demanding a nanny state? He doesn’t matter in the least in the world of politics, he and his Kossacks are chihuahuas in a world of rottweilers. Mere snacks for the real players.
This is the sort of thing that happens when you (he) place ideological purity above pragmatic or even long term goals. The left has been famous (infamous) for this for the last century. Stalin vs. Trotsky leaps to mind. Who are the real Comunists here? It doesn’t matter if your plan is better, all that counts is that you conform to the ideology of the party as it is currently defined this morning. Otherwise you will be on the lookout for party enforcers wielding ice axes for the rest of your life.
What a narrow way to live and conduct yourself (sigh).
Would Clinton have won in ’92 on his own standing? Ross Perot, don’t forget, siphoned off votes from Bush Senior. Clinton won by only 42% of the votes because it was a three-way election that year. There was no strong mandate for Bubba. He got lucky.
As far as Kos, I mean, what’s the real age range of his followers, folks? They are potty-mouthed kids! They have as much chance of changing the political landscape here as the Children’s Crusade had in re-taking the Holy Land.
I’ll certainly be interested to see his plot unfold. But unless he’s got a picture of Al Frum with a live boy or a dead girl, I can’t imagine how he intends to do it.
It’s like Club for Growth declaring war on the Heritage Foundation. What are the weapons? Pens at 40 paces?
Kos = Democrats’ Kim Jong Il.
Maybe the puppet Kim Jong Il from Team America.
Jay, have you considered the possibility that Zuninga might have another reason for this?
Think about it. What benefit does Zuninga actually get from a resurgent Democratic party? What position of power will he receive from a grateful party? What renumeration?
Kos’ current status is precisely linked to how many individuals read his blog and contribute to the causes that he supports. His site is a balm to Leftists who squirm at the lack of their power; he acts as an enabler to them, and they respond with loyalty and money.
Democrats start to win elections, hitcount starts to go down at dKos. Hitcount starts to go down, status of dKos goes down. Status of dKos starts to go down, people stop caring about Zuninga.
So: why does dKos want to win, again?
I keep waiting for Kos’ name to appear as the latest manager of the Chicago Cubs.
On Kos, doesn’t anyone recall how Rush sounded during the early Clinton years? He even had a days left countdown going (borrowed from Lord Mountbatten, Gov. of India, perhaps, who died almost exactly 26 years ago). Rest assured, that should Bush be succeeded by a Democrat, any Democrat, that Kos will (IMVHO) claim credit – and might deserve it.
Ross Perot was indeed the Ralph Nader of his time, but the Democrats try never to mention that bit of history.
well, at least the Cubs win some games here and there, and had Harry Carey 🙂
You know if Kos’ plan doesn’t work, Bush will be blamed.
Kos = Democrats’ Kim Jong Il.
Maybe the puppet Kim Jong Il from Team America.
He’s so ronery.
The Cubs were devoted to Harry Carey.
The Democrats seem devoted to political hari-kari.
I think I see a theme here…
J.
Sublime.
I think he’s just been reading the comments on his own blog too long. He’s simply a victim of living in Plato’s Cave.
But to paraphrase Freud, “sometimes a dickhead is just a dickhead.”
Another alternative: Kos will attempt to do what he says, because he’s taken a bribe from Karl Rove or some Republican to do it. So much of what Kos does benefits Republicans that it’s getting pretty hard to believe it’s not purposeful. I guess it’s *possible* someone could be that stupidly ineffective over and over again, but I can’t imagine how unless it’s deliberate.
It’s like “3rd Rock From the Sun” when they get messages from the Big Giant Head. Suddenly, Kos puts his arms out like antennae and receives his orders for the next two weeks. (That’s why he’s announcing this in two weeks and not now. He doesn’t know HIMSELF what he’s going to do.)
When you smear someone, you should attempt to get your basic facts right. Markos does not work for Media Matters.
I think the Plato’s Cave thing is partly true. He’s in a bubble of his own making.
Wow, somebody who is associated with the one of the scummiest, most dishonest organizations on Earth steps foward to deny Kos works for them. Scum denying trash. I guess scum doesn’t want it’s trashy reputation tarnished. Go figure. Oliver is probably rihgt though, using work and a nanny state lefty in the same sentence is always a mistake. Parasites don’t work, the sponge.
Yup. It’s more like a forum, rather then a blog, considering how many “open threads” there are daily. Great place for moonbats to go and seethe. So would Cuba.
Bullwinkle: Whatever happened to Minnesota nice?
What does either Minnesota or nice have to do with anything? I migrated from Frostbite Falls to warmer climes long ago and have never found a reason to call parasites “progressives”.
RE: Laurence Simon hilarity (August 23, 2005 12:47 PM)
I keep waiting for Kos’ name to appear as the latest manager of the Chicago Cubs.
ROFL – Is it any wonder you walk away from the caption contests with a trophy? We are not worthy…
Wow, somebody who is associated with the one of the scummiest, most dishonest organizations on Earth steps
Oliver works for the new GOP? Who woulda thunk it?
Neither Oliver nor Kos work for the GOP, not intentionally anyway. If I was a democrat I’d have had both of their licenses to type revoked long ago though. Since I’m able to earn my own living I’ll fight to their right to be heard by as many members of the public as possible. As long as they keep mouthing off people are learning that “progressive” and “parasite” mean the exact same thing in politics today. Those two geniuses are some of the best players on our team and we don’t even have to pay them.
1. Nobody pays me to blog, though I’m open to offers.
2. It would behoove you to write the truth about something, even once in a while.
I don’t think they are addicted to losing, it is just all they know how to do. The Democratic Party flirted with disaster by catering to victims and losers, telling people it’s not their fault they lost life’s lottery and shit, and now they have taken over the party.
They whole platform is anti-achievement, you can’t take care of yourself. Corporations are evil, the rich are evil, how the hell are you gonna win anything when you despise success with every bone in your body?
The KosKids etal remind me of nothing more than a nasty little two year old. We have seen them stamp around screaming “NO” during the election. Now they have stuck out their lip and are shaking their pudgy little fist at the DLC, when do we get to the part where they cross their arms and start holding their breath?
Well, Kos focuses on incumbents and open seats in conservative districts, so given the incumbency reelection rate of 99.9 percent, he’ll obviously lose most races. he could suddenly score 100 percent if he “endorsed” just incumbents next cycle. So I think those numbers are not as damning as you’d like to paint them.
Any Republican attempting the same the last two cycles would have a zero success rate. No Democrat district or state has fallen to the Republicans in the last two cycles. All GOP gains have come from conservative states and districts.
Nevertheless, he HAS supported to winning candidates in blood red districts — Stephanie Herseth in SD and Ben Chandler in KY.
Finally, the GOP was a losing cause when conservative funders started building our movement’s infrastructure in the 70s. I’m sure people laughed at those conservatives pumping millions into institutions like Heritage, CATO and FAIR.
So dismiss at your own risk.
Oh, and he didn’t delete the ‘screw ’em” post. It was never a post. It was a comment in a diary, and that diary is still out there. I’ve seen it linked to at several places.
Now given your mistake about the Media Matters thing, you’re not doing our side any favors with your loose grasp of facts. it’s not like Kos hasn’t offered enough real ammunition to use against him for you to make stuff up.
Everyday when I think you can go no lower, you find a way. Congrats Kevin Aylward, you’re a scumbag!
So, let’s see here:
You attempt to blame Kos for the losses of candidates he supports, without bothering to mention that these are all Democratic challengers against Republican incumbents in conservative districts (many of whom did much better than expected even if they didn’t win).
You claim that Kos works for Media Matters, patently false (probably thinking of Duncan Black, or atrios, or eschaton, or whatever he’s called). Then you call him a whore (apparently in your mind bloggers may only blog, and never work in politics in any capacity. One wonders what your response would be if a candidate were to ask you to consult or work on a campaign, as Kos did last year, making him a whore in your mind).
You claim that he deleted the “screw em” post when he did no such thing. Apparently you just made that one up.
Given how much you got wrong in this post, why should we take your predictions seriously?
btw since you fancy yourself a wordsmith,
Out of the last 10 Presidential elections, the Democrat has won exactly three times.
as opposed to winning approximately three times?
Jerry:
Kevin’s on vacation, schmuck. Look at the bottom of the posting — he didn’t write this piece, I did. He had absolutely nothing to do with it (apart from giving me this space).
I’m pretty proud of this one, and I don’t want to share the credit with anyone. Well, with the possible exception of Kos and Oliver — without them, I wouldn’t have had anything to say here.
So, just what parts did you find so offensive, Jerry? You sound like my target audience, so if you wouldn’t mind telling me just what set you off, I’ll know where to focus in the future.
J.
Fair enough, Jay Tea. Apparently you’re the scumbag to whom Jerry was referring. Nice response to mantis, by the way.
*sound of crickets chirping*
B Moe, take it from this mother of two headstrong (okay, somewhat spoiled) boys: that was the most fabulous mental image ever. Thank you! 🙂
The KosKids etal remind me of nothing more than a nasty little two year old. We have seen them stamp around screaming “NO” during the election. Now they have stuck out their lip and are shaking their pudgy little fist at the DLC, when do we get to the part where Pole they cross their arms and start holding their breath?
So, let’s see here:
You attempt to blame Kos for the losses of candidates he supports, without bothering to mention that…
Who cares? [Yawn] He’s raving loon with the bedside manner and PR skills of maybe Ed Gein and that’s all that matters. Anything else is insignificant detail.
Not only is he a loon, he’s a stupid loon. The more moonbats get “energized”, the more democrats lose. Look at the dem voter turnout in Palm Beach county in 04′ — DOWN considerably over 2000. There was some Emily’s List moonbat came to my house about 5 times prior to the election (trying desperately to make it appear she represented the League of Woman Voters when she didn’t). In previous elections, the moonbat stumping appearances were exactly ZERO.
Bottom line: moonbatism don’t play outside the very large urban centers on the coasts, and it’s a waste of money to court them in the urban centers because they’re locked up by default anyway.