Posted on 06/22/2006 7:33:26 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
The KOs volcano has just EXPLODED over the EXPOSURE by The New Republic's Jason Zengerle that Markos Moulitsas sent out a secret e-mail to fellow "progressives" to help him STONEWALL the Blogola SCANDAL that has engulfed him. Here is the text of the secret Stonewall "Townhouse" e-mail:
The YearlyKos media people have already forced corrections at Slate and NY Times (Suellentrop's blog). There has been some serious overreach by the few outlets that picked up this story (which as I mentioned before has been shopped around). It was interesting how this one piddly-ass story was used to try and smear Jerome, me, AND YearlyKos.
So the only paper to run this as a news story is the disgraceful NY Post. Others who picked up on it have had to backtrack from their original sensationalistic claims.
I am exploring legal options against some of the wingnut bloggers who are claiming I'm syphoning netroots money into consultants and my own pockets. Note how Glenn Reynolds is fueling it with his typical passive aggressive, "I don't think it's a big deal, but let me provide links to everyone who thinks this is THE BIGGEST STORY EVER!"
And Jerome's case, if it could be aired out, is a non-story (he was a poor grad student at the time so he settled because he had no money). Jerome can't talk about it now since the case is not fully closed. But once it is, he'll go on the offensive. That should be a couple of months off.
This story will percolate in wingnut circles until then, but I haven't gotten a single serious media call about it yet. Not one. So far, this story isn't making the jump to the traditional media, and we shouldn't do anything to help make that happen.
My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. Then, once Jerome can speak and defend himself, then I'll go on the offensive (which is when I would file any lawsuits) and anyone can pile on. If any of us blog on this right now, we fuel the story. Let's starve it of oxygen. And without the "he said, she said" element to the story, you know political journalists are paralyzed into inaction.
Thanks, markos
So there you have it. KOs is clearly asking his fellow "progressives" on the secret e-mail list to maintain silence and STONEWALL the Blogola scandal because "It would make my life easier if we can confine the story." However, since this Stonewall by Kos has now been exposed, Kos EXPLODED last night in this emotional KOmmieland THREAD titled, "TNR's defection to the Right is now complete." So let us now watch the KOs meltdown over the exposure of his Stonewalling scheme in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, hoping that Kos "explores legal options" against this "wingnut blogger," is in the [brackets]:
TNR's defection to the Right is now complete
[Stand by for an insane rant of Leopoldian proportions...]
by kos
Wed Jun 21, 2006 at 11:23:10 PM PDT
[Late night explosive rants are always the BEST!]
People talk about the need for the left to work together and have a unified message in the face of a unified conservative noise machine. So a google group was created called "Townhouse", and it included many bloggers and other representatives of the netroots as well as a large number of partisan journalists and grassroots groups. It allowed us to discuss policy, issues, tactics and coordinate as much as you can ever get a bunch of liberals to coordinate.
[That "unified conservative noise machine" is a paranoid leftist MYTH but KOs, by his own words, ADMITS that there is a secret "Townhouse" group designed to "coordinate" (march in lockstep) the "progressive" message. ...And now to open up my morning marching orders from Karl Rove delivered by special pigeon courier.]
There was one big rule for this list, an important cog in the growing Vast Left Wing Conspiracy -- everything discussed was off the record.
[They had to take the oath of Omerta.]
That was obviously violated today as the New Republic betrayed, once again, that it seeks to destroy the new people-powered movement for the sake of its Lieberman-worshipping neocon owners; that it stands with the National Review and wingnutoshpere in their opposition to grassroots Democrats.
[The New Republic as the Joe Valachi of the leftist Blogosphere.]
The magazine published, in its website, an email I sent to the list. There is nothing controversial about the email, but Jason Zengerle tried to spin it as evidence that there is a "smoke-filled room" and that I send "dictats" to other bloggers, controlling what they can and cannot write about. In a subsequent post, Zengerle went further, saying that I control the financial fates of much of the progressive blogosphere. My power apparently knows no bounds!
[READ your own secret e-mail, KOs. You were definitely asking your fellow "progressives" to STONEWALL the Blogola scandal.]
Ludicrous, all of it, but that's the new rules of the game. TNR and its enablers are feeling the heat of their own irrelevance and this is how they fight it -- by undermining the progressive movement. Zengerle has made common cause with the wingnutosphere, using the laughable "kosola" frame they created and emailing his "scoops" to them for links. This is what the once-proud New Republic has evolved into -- just another cog of the Vast RIGHT Wing Conspiracy.
[I actually prefer the term "Blogola" to describe your pay for blog play scheme. "Kosola" sounds too much like a French sausage dish.]
If you still hold a subscription to that magazine, it really is time to call it quits. If you see it in a magazine rack, you might as well move it behind the National Review or even NewsMax, since that's who they want to be associated with these days.
[The KOs Godfather instructing his lieutenants on how to sabotage the New Republic at newsstands.]
But what about the merits? There are none, as frequent critics of this site like Ezra Klein and Max Sawicky have already stated. In fact, it's quite funny how they're trying to parlay the nothing they have into something, anything at all. It's the price of success, and we knew the knives would be coming out after Vegas, so we shouldn't be surprised.
[It's quite funny how WORKED UP you are getting over that "nothing" they have.]
But I do admit being surprised by the sheer creativity of their invented attacks, such as my supposed "pay for play" scheme. Let me be crystal clear. I deny that charge completely. I have stated the sources of my income and they do not include money from people asking me to shill for anyone or anything. Problem for these writers, is that the law doesn't protect such defamation. The truth is an absolute defense to libel cases. If they have evidence for those smears, then they have nothing to fear. But if they, say, recklessly invented all manners of illegal or unethical activities by me without bothering to see if they bore any basis in truth, then they'll have plenty to worry about.
[The Godfather of KOs threatening to sue, sue, SUE.]
And it's not just me, even. These smear mongers have tried to drag other people and organizations into their fantasies. Like YearlyKos. YearlyKos moved aggressively and got a whole slew of corrections and apologies in response to pieces in the NY Times and Slate, but the damage was already done. Now think about the heroic work done by the YearlyKos people -- from Gina Cooper on down to the tireless volunteers. Think of all the people who took time off from their busy lives to head down to Vegas to partake in that wonderful event. Think of all the great progressive organizations that joined in to make it happen -- People For the American Way, MoveOn, DFA, UNITE-HERE, SEIU, the Rappaports, all of the politicians who attended, and so on. All of them smeared by the Right Wing, sure, that's what they do. But joined by the New Republic? Not surprising, yet still disappointing.
[Break out the hankie to soak up the tears as KOs lays it on thick with the meaningless shmaltz.]
It is now beyond clear that the dying New Republic is mortally wounded and cornered, desperate for relevance. It has lost half its circulation since the blogs arrived on the scene and they no longer (thank heavens!) have a monopoly on progressive punditry. We have hit their bottom line, we are hitting their patron saint hard (Joe Lieberman) and this is how they respond. By going after the entire movement.
[Too bad that patron saint didn't pay "consulting fees" to Unknown Jerome (Armstrong) or he might not have had to face the KOmmie wratch. Note that Mark Warner's views are very similar to that of Lieberman's but he is hailed by Kos. The difference? Those Unknown Jerome "consulting fees."]
Sad, perhaps. But this is apparently the price one pays for crashing the gate.
[More like cashing the gate.
The (dying) New Republic:
(202) 508-4444
Letters to the editor
jzengerle@tnr.com
[KOs giving out this HARRASSMENT information might be why The New Republic site is currently down. And now to hear from the rest of the KOmmies giving support to their Crime Boss...]
They're the enemy. They're worse than the enemy, because they're attempting to pretend they're still on the side of progressives and liberals while publishing false innuendos and libels against us. And it's not just this site or Kos they're going after, they've been on a tear attacking every stick of the grassroots. They apparently can't stand having people like us taking their readers by the tens of thousands, and fighting for our own right to state our opinions.
[They are non-persons. They must be taken by the Thought Police to Room 101 to learn that two plus two equals five when KOs says so.]
It's about effeciency and creating a message machine... if you think powerline, malkin, hewitt and cap't ed aren't coordinating with mehlman and the republican message machine, you're nuts... remember - "buckhead" - the republican lawyer and operative out of Atlanta georgia that "exposed" the CBS Nat'l Guard "forgeries" - despite having no particular expertise in typography? he blew it up at the Free Republic... the only difference between us and them is that we orgnize honestly.
[Yeah, Buckhead had to wait until Karl Rove gave him the go ahead two hours after the CBS TANG show aired before he could post on the Free Republic questioning the authenticity of those documents.]
Markos made some unwise comments in interviews. I cringed when he was on a tv show and said something like "Some people criticize the money we spend and that we politicians are throwing parties for us...." I thought he was hanging a Kick Me sign on himself
[KOs is a living Kick Me sign.]
Don't worry, Kos. Whether or not Jerome was pimping a bunch of stocks on that other website... Well, it really makes no difference to what you are doing here on this site, what others write on this site, and the openness and trust that is the hallmark of the medium. As long as DailyKos stays free, as long as I and others can speak their minds, I'll remain on board. Remember, they are scared of what we are doing here. All the more reason to remain committed to it.
[Don't worry, Kos. I BEEEEEEEEELLLEEEEEEEEVEEE!!!]
Why did Markos suddenly switch sides and hang Fighting Dem Paul Hackett out to dry, within 48 hours?
Why did Yearly Kos give Jerome Armstrong's employer, Mark Warner, top billing, the keynote speech, and Kos' virtual endorsement?
Jerome Armstong is now 39. His stock-manipulation occurred in 1999-2003. Just when does the "poor starving student" excuse run out?
[LOUSY FREEPER TROLL!!!]
Let us raise our voices and give thanks to the universe for delivering Makos unto us. He is our Kurt Colbain. He is our Che Gevara. He is Markos, leader of our cause, defender of the faith, and master of Universe.
[He is your Fidel Castro. He is your Hugo Chavez.]
Did I memtion that Kos is SOOOOO good looking?
[Is that you, Ben Burch?]
Kos is pissed.
[Understatement of the day.]
Kos...If you ain't John Kerry, you gotta hit back at these swifties. Destroy them. Like Ben Domenich. If you don't, they'll keep it going - One thing after another. The only thing you'll be doing is defending yourself. We can debate who said what and who did what later. Or maybe we could get the Senate to do it. Right now, what you need to do is TAKE THEM OUT.
[Kos...you need to become even more of a psychopath that you already are.]
Speaking frankly ... It takes far less imagination (and far less suspension of disbelief) to imagine that Kos and Armstrong engage in a little blog-ola than it takes to believe that The New Republic is involved in some sort of sinister right wing plot. If you can look everyone straight in the face and claim that a Daily Kos endorsement does not come at the price of hiring Jerome Armstrong, then fine - but that means demonstrating that there actually is a disconnect between hiring Jerome Armstrong and earning kudos from Daily Kos. This story isn't going to go away simply by dismissing it all as a right wing plot. As Ricky Ricardo said, "you got some 'splainin to do".
[And this KOmmie WINS a Kewpie Doll for have a brief moment of mental clarity.]
You do have to admit The way you 'found religion' with Brown one day after supporting Hackett is... well... odd.
[Yes, VERY ODD the way the "consulting fees" paid to Unknown Jerome seem to have made all the difference. Oh, and I'm sorry but only ONE Kewpie Doll for having a brief moment of mental clarity per thread can be awarded.]
while i'd like to say there are natural inconsistencies to any well-intentioned politcal life, the inconsistencies that have piled up at dkos.com do indicate a set of relationships markos has forged with politicians that, while it may not be proved to be based on an exchange of money, is clearly based on a tit-for-tat access to priveledged information in exchange for support. such support is simply too divorced from any ideological OR tactical consistency for people not to wonder what goes on.
[So now EVERYONE seems to want a Kewpie Doll.]
I don't think there's anything wrong (and certainly not illegal) about ponying up money to Kos' friends to get access to a Daily Kos endorsement - that's how the game is played in consultancy circles. It's certainly not illegal, if it is, perhaps, unethical. What makes things go from bad to head shakingly bad is not as much Kos blasting TNR as if it were the inhouse paper of the John Birch Society (which is dumb, granted), but that the substance of the article isn't addressed in the slightest, which actually creates the appearance of looking guiltier than hell. I don't believe blasting the messenger necessarily obliterates the message, especially with a blatantly bonheaded assertion that The New Republic is a right wing publication.
[Aren't you satisfied with already winning one Kewpie Doll?]
What was "made up" in the TNR article? The email itself wasn't, and no one seems to have disputed that the story about Armstrong wasn't given very big play by the members of the private list. Nor has the story's supposed "refutation" of the argument that Armstrong was not, in fact, a "poor grad student" when he settled the case? SO I guess I am having difficulty seeing what is false. I understand that kos is challenging the conclusions drawn by TNR from the facts, but I was wondering if there are indeed any facts that were misrepresented by TNR.
[The KOmmies are REVOLTING! They stink on ice.]
The Repugs want to create a "Chinese style" ( content and politically restricted and state regulated NET.) They view the present and past Internet in much the same way that the so called"good" Church folks that eventually ended what they saw as the Wild West. They want to close down the Saloons, Gambling parlors and Whorehouses and they want control of the local politics. It's going to be an interesting next few years watching them try to do this. They should review the success of the RIAA on that score in their attempts to reign in "file sharing."
[Ah! Back to the comfortable level of normal KOmmie paranoia.]
kos, can you post the Townhouse email? If there's truly nothing controversial about the email, it would kill a lot of the smears floating around.
[That would be redundant since Jason Zengerle already posted it in full at The New Republic.]
In any event, TNR (and Joe Lieberman) is a lot easier to understand if you view them as 100% patriotic -- to Israel.
[Uh-Oh! We should have seen this coming. The Blogola scam is all the fault of...the Juden!]
The New Republic? A Zionist-DLC rag. Like the Times, I stopped reading it ages ago.
[The KOssacks are now attacking the JOOOOOS!]
lol. Like in a movie where the good guys are in ambuse watching the enemy approach as we hear the sound of all the weaponry being prepared for the "Open fire" signal.
You know, the KOssacks have a, uh, rather unusual system of name-calling.
It reminds me of the critics of Scamdy, those people who last year were against open and honest fund-raising.
I look at the comments, and it's really odd, how the "New Republic" is characterized as some sort of "right-wing" publication, when the issue is about ethics, not ideology.
That seems to be the normal knee-jerk reaction of Democrats, liberals, leftists, and other extremists--if they don't like what's being said, they immediately drag out the "right wing" label.....even if the issue has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with ideology.
No matter what the KOssacks insist, scientific political measurement still betrays that the "New Republic" is a left-of-center publication.
But this seems the standard operating procedure of Democrats, liberals, leftists, and other extremists--if they don't like something, they robot-like denigrate it as "right wing".....when it has nothing at all to do with politics or ideology.
Egomania, paranoia, even anti-Semitism - all the hallmarks of the once-fringe-now-increasingly-mainstream left.
Great stuff.
Luckily for conservatives, no one on the left will listen to the one voice of reason on the DU thread asking Zuniga to explain himself.
Zuniga's acolytes will ignore the warning signs and Zuniga's ego will get so big that he will implode much more spectacularly at some point in the future and bring many, many more leftists down with him in the aftermath.
In fact, I hope that "make him explain" guy gets banned from DU quickly.
A dirty little secret which he refuses to give a proper explanation for, is how often he is a paid consultant for these candidates whom he endorses and asks his little followers to donate to.
Where I come from, this is called fraud.
He's getting paid to steer money to candidates.
I don't know how much he gets, but his arrogance and lack of transparency is horrific.
Great work PJ, bet you feel like you need a dozen showers after being over at Kos
A-yup. Precisely like that. But with a lightsaber thrown in just for the hell of it.
The face of the Kos cracks me up. It's PERFECT for parody.
And the Frauden-Shouten continues!
found this picture at Little Green Footballs
ROTFL!!!
That is EXACTLY what I was picturing!
You're probably right, SD but there was MONEY involved here, not merely the free exchange of political discourse without compensation. What's your opinion about that?
I need a shower after that. And no, a moose didn't bite my sister and my beeber wasn't stuned.
Still have yet to see a thing about this in the MSM or any media?
"Flying J" truckstops and others have WIFI wireless internet access as well, for a fee....
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