Daou's "Triangle"

Kos caught my eye with this emphatic recommendation of a Dao Report post:

This essay by Peter Daou, formerly Kerry's netroots guru, may be the most important thing I've read in a long time.

So I followed the link and drank it in.

The Triangle: Matthews, Moore, Murtha, and the Media

What's the common thread running through the past half-decade of Bush's presidency? What's the nexus between the Swift-boating of Kerry, the Swift-boating of Murtha, and the guilt-by-association between Democrats and terrorists? Why has a seemingly endless string of administration scandals faded into oblivion? Why do Democrats keep losing elections? It's this: the traditional media, the trusted media, the "neutral" media, have become the chief delivery mechanism of potent anti-Democratic and pro-Bush storylines. And the Democratic establishment appears to be either ignorant of this political quandary or unwilling to fight it.

He concludes wtih:

Progressive bloggers and the millions of online activists whose conversations they shepherd are fighting to close the triangle. Sadly, Democrats will resist, out of fear. And the press will fight back, hard. Not to mention the anticipated wrath of the rightwing machine, built on the 'liberal media' myth. Still, the latent power of the netroots is ignored at the political and media establishment's peril.

Let's not forget that the post-Goldwater Republican party spent decades wandering in the wilderness (OK, maybe not wandering in the wilderness, but...) before they were able to wash away the ancien regime and replace it with... our current affliction.

So maybe there is a lack of perspective and a rash impatience in the netroots crowd. Maybe it will take more time than anyone wants to imagine. Maybe a whole new generation of politicians will have to work their way up and replace the dated, clue-imparied Democratic leadership.

I hope not.