The inter-Democratic chattering class wars are heating up, as the somewhat checkered backgrounds of netroots heroes Joe Trippi and Jerome Armstrong float to the surface. But hey, I've got a checkered background as well (nothing in their league, but there was this one time I was trapped overnight in a sorority...).
There are real issues there, which I'm chewing over - at a basic level, it's the cooptation of 'trusted recommenders' by advertising - the political equivalent of BuzzAgents. And, to me, it exposes the hollowness of the positions of the netroots leadership - it's not that they want to break the iron ricebowl that's been feeding the political elites; they just want their own chopsticks.
I've been casting about for a post explaining where I stand on this, and after a number of false starts, discovered just what I wanted to say on someone else's site.
Bull Moose is another liberal who the TAPPED folks probably look at askance.
The Moose calls for moderates with attitudes.These days if you want to be taken seriously in politics you have to have an attitude. Just look who the MSM pays attention to - blowhard bloggers and pugilistic pundits. In fact, Coulter and Kos are kissing cousins.
They deserve each other. The primary difference between the two is that the Republican Party leadership does not grovel at the feet of Coulter nor do their Senate candidates give her a staring role in their commercials.
...He goes on to quote David Broder interviewing Joe Lieberman:It is time that changed. The Moose suggests that our nation desperately needs moderates with attitudes. No, they should not be course, crude and crass. But they should be unafraid and unapologetic about their centrism.
First and foremost, the immoderate center should not temper their views when they come under assault from the fever swamp of the left and the right. There is no accommodating these folks.
America needs national unity as never before. We are faced with a Jihadist enemy that poses a potential existential threat to our nation. The stakes are high. That is why the McCain-Lieberman Party in American politics must be bold and daring. While the two parties slavishly appease their respective bases, the broad swath of the electorate remains unrepresented.
My opponent says it [the controversial Wall Street Journal op-ed] broke Democratic unity," Lieberman said. "Well, dammit, I wasn't thinking about Democratic unity. It was a moment to put the national interest above partisan interest..."I know I'm taking a position that is not popular within the party," Lieberman said, "but that is a challenge for the party -- whether it will accept diversity of opinion or is on a kind of crusade or jihad of its own to have everybody toe the line. No successful political party has ever done that."
Where do I sign up?