From Markos' keynote address at YearlyKos, being held this weekend in Las Vegas (I'm too busy with the Webb campaign to make it...bummer), I think the following words have definite relevance to the James Webb movement here in Virginia:
...these have been heady days for the people-powered movement.We're only four years old, from the early days when bloggers like Atrios and Jerome Armstrong at MyDD inspired bloggers like me and countless others to stop railing at Fox News and our so-called-"liberal" pundits, and start publishing those rants on the web.
And we've come a long way since then.
[...]...people-power is a wonderful thing. Everyone can be a leader. Everyone can be a strong voice. Everyone can make a difference. There has been far too much talent, far too much passion, far too much intelligence in this country marginalized by the establishment currently stinking up Washington D.C.
And now, that talent has an outlet. It can no longer be marginalized.
[...]
There have been so many efforts to marginalize us by the media and political elite because we had the temerity to feel passionate about politics. How dare us riff raff demand a voice in our democracy?
So they marginalize us. They say we're extremists. We're politically na+â-»ve. We're young.
There's a lot more great stuff by Markos. Let's just close with this, and then go out this weekend and work our butts off to win Jim Webb the Democratic nomination for US Senate right here in Virginia:
...the media elite failed us. The political elite - from both parties - failed us. Republicans because they can't govern, and Democrats because they can't get elected. Our leaders failed us. Our issue groups failed us.So now it's our turn.
It's our turn to inject some good ol' fashioned common sense into Washington D.C. It's our responsibility to demand accountability and reform from the Democratic Party and allied organizations that claim to represent our interests.
And if they refuse to reform, if they refuse to be more accountable, if they refuse to join this people-powered movement as it seeks to move our country forward ... well then, they'll be relegated to the dustbin of history.
"The dustbin of history." To all those ossified Democrats who are content to remain a minority party forever while right-wing Republicans trash our environment, our economy, and our international reputation, I say "dustbin of history." To all those cynical lobbyists and consultant-on-commission who only care about themselves, not the greater good, I say "dustbin of history." To all those who play the "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" while the country falls apart, I say, "dustbin of history." And to all those who obstinately refuse to see what a Jim Webb candidacy could mean for the Democratic Party and our Democracy as a whole, preferring to slander a great man and reject him from joining the great Democratic Coalition, I say, "dustbin of history."
Today is the Friday before an extremely important election here in Virginia on June 13. Today, I say to ALL my fellow Democrats: please, before it's too late for America, get on the RIGHT side of history. Get with Jim Webb. Reject the tired old, nasty attack politics of the other candidate. And let's take our country back once and for all!