Last night, there was a horrific disaster in the Twin Cities area. One thing that blogs do is they provide instant reaction to all kinds of events. Unfortunately, “instant” isn’t usually compatible with “measured” or “sensible”. But the quick responses do give the reader insight into how the responders view the world.

Being the masochist that I am, I went to the Daily Kos to see the predictable politically oriented responses. The Kossacks didn’t disappoint. The first thread on the subject that I found went up at 7:45 p.m. EDT. The post itself was descriptive and apolitical, but the commenters had other ideas. The first commenter chimed in:

“We spend billions in Iraq while we fall apart at home.”

Funny – when I saw the terrible scene on the news last night, the Iraq war never even entered my mind. I think it’s safe to say that for that particular commenter, Iraq is never far from his mind. The second comment amplified the first:

Who needs terrorism when the inept GOP runs our nation into the ground. The "terrorists" can just sit back and watch as our nation falls apart.

Mission Accomplished.

For this guy, it was about Bush and the war on terror. If you like, read the rest of the thread. The community eventually settled on Minnesota’s Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and his tax cuts as the true culprits.

With the Yearly Kos about to convene, I think it’s important to note what the Daily Kos is and, more importantly, what it isn’t. Markos Moulitsas and his front-pagers had nothing to do with these comments. He and they have grown much too smart to engage in such public displays of idiocy. But Markos doesn’t lead the Daily Kos; he sits atop it.

The energy and direction comes from the bottom. This is what real grassroots activism looks like. To flash back a bit to our internal exchange over the YouTube Debate, the reason the Democrats have such an advantage in on-line organizing and energy is because they have hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of people who angrily obsess about Iraq and George W. Bush on a 24/7 basis. Let’s face it – if a bridge collapsing in Minnesota makes you angry at George W. Bush, the results of your political Rorschach Test are conclusive. You’re a nut. But a useful nut; you’re the kind of nut who probably opens your heart and your wallet to the causes that strike your fancy.

LEST I BE ACCUSED OF suggesting that the left has the exclusive franchise in this sort of monomania, the right has its sliver of kooks and misfits who jam every event into a one-size-fits-all-events ideological prism. Blogger “Psycheout” at Blogs 4 Brownback (which I’m glad to say has nothing to do with the Brownback campaign) responded to the disaster by writing:

“Whether terrorism or a failure on the part of big government, it’s clear to anyone with eyes that government doesn’t work. Private enterprise always does better than the Feds. It’s time to cut the Federal Government down to size.”

Like I said earlier, such people have their uses. But those who pine for a right wing entity to match the Daily Kos and Moveon.org might want to be careful what they wish for.

Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at Soxblog@aol.com