DLC and Yearly Kos Convention

The San Francisco Chronicle's Joe Garofoli shows he is another political writer who just doesn't get the netroots or blogosphere:

Iowa's Vilsack, another Daily Kos favorite, said it is important for a candidate to talk openly and honestly in front of this audience, many of whom spend their day with their political bull detector set on stun.

Uh, when did the head of the Democratic Leadership Council become a Daily Kos favorite? Because he showed up at a convention? Give me a break, politician are now expected to show up -- the early adapter benefits candidates enjoyed 2004 no longer exist, because everyone is doing it.

A better way of measuring whether a candidate is a DailyKos favorite would be to look at the results of the latest 2008 straw poll, where Tom Vilsack's 54 votes earned him less than one percent of the vote (look at the results and the DLC chair did so poorly it actually rounds to zero percent support).

Same with Governor Mark Warner, who when faced with a choice between the DLC and Netroots, decided to try and buy netroots support with consultanting fees, free drinks, and amusment park rides while hanging out with the DLC when it comes to Iraq.

When it comes to where potential 2008 candidates really stand, Vilsack and Warner and Evan Bayh and Hillary Clinton are providing credibility for the DLC war on the netroots, young people and the Democratic Base. I don't see any of them earning netroots support.

Look at the most successful netroots campaigns. Paul Hackett didn't even know who the DLC were, while the netroots where helping his "all hands on deck" Special Election the DLC'ers were sipping champagne a couple hundred miles. Jon Tester, the first netroots success, beat a DLC candidate in a primary despite being outspent 2:1. And Ned Lamont, who will have the undivided attention of the progressive blogosphere until his August 8 election, is running against one of the founders of the DLC.

The netroots have become a force because of a vacuum created by the DLC and it would violate the laws of physics for the blogosphere to rally around a DLC'er in 2008.