Democrats and Kos: Rewarding Failure

From the Washington Monthly on Markos "Screw Them" Moulitas:

There was another reason, though, why hundreds of thousands of liberals around the country found themselves addictively checking and rechecking Daily Kos as the 2004 election approached. It made them think Democrats were going to win. Moulitsas wasn't just posting any polls, he was selecting those that suggested Democrats from John Kerry to congressional candidates were heading for victory, while downplaying less encouraging signs. It left liberals trapped in a bubble of reassurance. Heading into the election, it would have been reasonable to assume from the evidence presented on Daily Kos that Kerry was the clear favorite to beat Bush, and that Democrats were likely to pick up seats in both houses of Congress.

Kos has learned the key to every snake oil salesman's success.  Tell the public what they want to hear! No wonder the hard left thinks the election was rigged.  With every carefully selected post their beloved Kos told them they were winners.

All of Kos's confident predictions had been wrong. "It's a valid criticism. Looking back, I was too optimistic," Moulitsas told me. "[At] the beginning, I didn't even know what a margin of error was."

That's right.  Reporting only the polls that prop up your position is just "optimistic".  Certainly not fuel to boost traffic and therefore his own power within the party.

Worse, Kos hadn't just fared poorly as an armchair quarterback, he'd been beaten on the field, too. In the Democratic primaries, he first backed Dean, then Wesley Clark. Both sparked grassroots excitement, but ultimately, of course, flamed out. Then, of the 13 Democratic candidates for Congress that Moulitsas handpicked for his readers to support, and for whom he raised over $500,000, not a single one prevailed.

So Kos put his readers in a bubble, only reporting the news that looked good for them.  Then reality intrudes.  The election results are utter failure.  You'd expect some people to catch on, right?  But, the snake oil is addictive.

Many expected Moulitsas's readership to shrivel after the election. Instead, it has nearly doubled; so, it often seems, has his influence.

Kos is invited to give an election post mortem by Senate Democrats.  "You've failed completely?  Welcome to the halls of power my son!" As long as Democrats prize passion over being right, are content to live inside the bubble, and reward failure, the citizens will recognize that the adults, the Republicans, are the only party fit to lead the country.

Comments

[Uncle Ben]

Ahhh, but what if snake oil tasssssstes good?

[aelfheld]

What if your snake squeaks?