Welcome To This Website

Why would a self-described liberal Democrat and regular contributor to Dailykos.com create a blog called "DailyKosWatch?" It is a fair question and one that I struggled with before making this decision.

I have been posting at Daily Kos since either 2004 or 2005. I am a trusted user and, I think, valued contributor. I have never had a recommended diary, but I have had my diaries "saved" before. For the most part, I value my Daily Kos experience. I find many intelligent and like-minded people and I really believe that the website inspires people powered politics that makes a difference.

Since day 1 at Daily Kos, there has been a vocal minority of people who continue to bash Israel. Any I/P diary had the same faces making the same arguments and I am not even sure if everyone involved even cared about Democratic politics. Since that time, in my opinion, the anti-Israel sentiment has spread from a vocal minority to, in my assessment, a vocal majority. The language used in the debate is still the same. Israel is often referred to as the "Zionists," "Apartheid" is thrown around, "Nazi" and "Holocaust" are favorites, although there has been a recent clamp down.

Since my involvement with Daily Kos, I have felt that its members are the conscience of the Democratic Party, helping support and drive its policies and helping members who support the Democratic Platform get elected. If this is the case, I have serious concerns about what influence Daily Kos can have on my parties' foreign policy. Israel is a terrific wedge issue for many Jewish Democrats, especially for many Jews over 60. People like my father-in-law who voted for McCain because he didn't trust Obama on Israel and who, for the first 6 months, has not failed to remind me that thus far he is right.

So I created this blog not to have another place to have flame wars on the Israeli/Palestinian debate, but so that there was a forum to expose and therefore, hopefully eradicate, anti-Israel sentiment within all segments of the Democratic Party. It is also somewhat cathartic for me. As a life long Democrat and a strong supporter of President Obama, I want my experiences at Daily Kos to reinforce my love for the Democratic Party. Instead, when I read most I/P diaries, I feel alienated from my party and worried for the future. This is my way of helping myself deal with this feelings.

Regards,

DKW