The site has always been about Democrats, then more (and better when Dems have a majority) Dems. What is good for the Democratic Party has always been the focus. Calls for “just more Dems for now because SCOTUS” are similar to a time when there was a lot of rooting for red state Dems in 2006. Many of those red state Dems – surprise surprise – turned out to be conservatives, who were in turn denounced (i.e. Cuellar) when they obstructed Party policies while Dems had a majority.(And many were defeated by Republicans next time around) (That’s not to say we shouldn’t support red state Dems. We certainly should. What happened to the “50 state strategy”?) The front page has often supported then criticized big name Dems, but they support the establishment Dems at election time, and this isn’t the first time they’ve been dismissive of challenges to the old guard from the left (i.e. CA US Sen). The front page in general is supportive of progressive policies and liberal goals. Members, meanwhile, have always been free to agree or disagree in posts, and the rec list is often dominated by posts which disagree with, or even call out the owner. These things have been consistent in my opinion.
I believe we get everything we were promised/offered, by the way, and I’ve got to say that for the price, it’s a terrific deal. I enjoy an amazing depth of writing here, from an amazing variety of people, about an amazing spectrum of subjects, and see many fellow travelers and kindred spirits. Whether or not I interact with them, the validation and support they provide is priceless.
A few bonus thoughts…
It’s completely reasonable, given the stated purpose for the site, that the owner would object to people writing posts on his site repeating republican talking points about the party or their candidates, or advocating 3rd party runs. And, frankly, the Bernie Sanders candidacy is largely a rejection of the current Democratic Party, though, like Kos, Bernie apparently sees the current Democratic Party as the only available vehicle for change. This implied rejection has led to much vigorous debate on the site.
The bottom line is that today’s Democratic Party, for better or worse, is the Clinton Democratic Party, and apparently the rejection of Hilary Clinton is perceived as the rejection of the Democratic Party except in the highly unlikely event that voters decide otherwise.