Daily Kos

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I am progressive. I am liberal. I make no apologies. I believe government has an obligation to create an even playing field for all of this country's citizens and immigrants alike. I am not a socialist. I do not seek enforced equality. However, there has to be equality of opportunity, and the private sector, left to its own devices, will never achieve this goal.
—Markos Moulitsas, the first post on Daily Kos, [1]

Daily Kos is a blogging platform created by Markos "Kos" Moulitsas, a former US Army soldier. It focuses on issues of interest to American Progressives.

Daily Kos has a stable of regular contributors and has also run posts by politicians including Barack Obama,[2] John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid.

The front page features news about American politics. Its viewpoint is usually from a Keynesian social democratic position, so it's just as harsh on Barack Obama[3] as it is on conservative politicians.

Readers can open an account and contribute to the site. Daily Kos accepts posts on virtually any topic.

Political position[edit]

Daily Kos's front page writes from the perspective of American Progressivism, but since the heart of it is a blogging platform, stories on the site can vary in position and quality. The front page is generally good, but digging deeper can yield just about anything if you're not careful. Markos tends to be a realist about the political landscape despite his idealism. The moment it was abundantly clear that Bernie Sanders was not going to win the Democratic Party Nomination for the 2016 Presidential Election, he put a hard stop to the primary influence articles and rallied everyone around Hillary Clinton.[4] Markos has had his share of controversy though, with an article titled 'Be happy for coal miners losing their health insurance. They're getting exactly what they voted for'[5] that seems equal parts tough love and tone deaf. Similarly, this tweet: "White supremacist presidents will pardon other white supremacists. That's what happens when communities of color don't vote."[6] wasn't well received and it's hard not to see why. He did apologize and clarify his point though.[7]

Other stuff[edit]

Every year, Daily Kos hosts Netroots Nation, a convention for progressives. It features presentations, panels, and guests ranging from politicians to economists to bloggers. In addition, it is a member of Act Blue which helps to fundraise for progressively-minded candidates (and one data aggregator[8]).

They also host Brainwrap, a one-man operation working to quantify the effects of the Affordable Care Act.[9]

References[edit]