But not everyone in the Netroots Nation community is on board for going into the belly of the beast. In a posting early Saturday morning, DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas, whose organization gave birth to what was originally known as the YearlyKos convention, and later Netroots Nation, said he will not be going to Phoenix. “I wish the conference the best, but it will unfortunately take place without Daily Kos’ attendance or assistance,” Moulitsas wrote. “I made very clear in the wake of Arizona’s passage of SB 1070 that I would not be setting foot in the state, nor spending a dime in it until the law was revoked. The law, however gutted by the courts, remains on the books, as does systemic harassment of Latinos, so my pledge still stands.”

Moulitsas dismissed the take-the-fight-head-on argument, writing, “I doubt the conference would decide to host the event in, say, Apartheid South Africa, in order to ‘take the fight to the enemy.'” Although Moulitsas conceded that his analogy was “absurd,” he said the absurdity was “only in terms of degree, not intent in the county that has consistently elected Sheriff Joe Arpaio since 1992.”

Moulitsas also argued that the very fact that some progressives wanted to go to Phoenix, while others did not, “should have been a hint that perhaps Netroots Nation should’ve tread more carefully. If they want a united netroots, they shouldn’t make decisions that are inherently divisive.” Finally, Moulitsas argued that the immigration fight, already raging, will continue no matter the location of the next conference.