Who's ruining the party?

I am so sick of being called an extremist just because I'm angry. I'm a centrist, okay? I'm angry at everybody. If I spend extra ink on Beltway Democrats and the media, it's because I hold them to higher standards of behavior than neocons, theocons, and war profiteers. So........ here's another attack on the party establishment!

Steve Gilliard has written a perfect gem about bloggers fighting back against the media and the beltway. The approved script says we're slavering leftists destroying the party by calling for blood if anyone strays from party doctrine and scaring away all the "value voters" and "moderates." Plus we're really, really mean to the media.

Gilliard dismisses the Washington Post as paranoid and focuses his attention on the lefty-lunacy meme. He boils his answer down to two points:

1. We are not demanding ideological purity. That's rightwing behavior. We support Democrats who fight, period.
2. Quit giving in before you even start. Losing does not endear you to moderates. Compromise with reactionaries does not work.

(Or, as BuzzFlash put it in a recent headline: What is the Major Flaw of this Typical Washington Post Article that Promulgates the Myth of the Elusive "Center" in American Politics? Well, if Voters are in the Center, then how come We Have a Radical Right Wing Regime Controlling All Three Branches of Government? Uh, Because They Have Passion and Battle Like the Mob. The Washington Democrats Couldn't Get Any More Centrist. Is Murtha a "Lefty." No, Those Kind of Definitions Don't Work Anymore. Bush's Presidency is a Staged Presidency. It's More About Theatrics, Deception and Getting Out the Vote Than Capturing the Undefinable "Center." It's a Myth. 1/29)

Worth reading the whole thing. And, by the way, I cheer the senators from Massachusetts in their filibuster fight. I called and faxed both Snowe and Collins and asked them to abstain or vote no on cloture, and to vote no on Alito. Here's contact info if you would like to do the same.

Senator Olympia Snowe:

Washington, 202-224-5344 (phone), 202-224-1946 (fax)
Bangor, 207-945-0432 (phone), 207-941-9525 (fax)
Presque Isle, 207-764-5124 (phone), 207-764-6420 (fax)
Biddeford, 207-282-4144 (phone), 207-284-2358 (fax)
Auburn, 207-786-2451 (phone), 207-782-1438 (fax)
Augusta, 207-622-8292 (phone), 207-622-7295 (fax)
Portland, 207-874-0883 (phone), 207-874-7631 (fax)

Senator Susan Collins:

Washington, 202-224-2523 (phone), 202-224-2693 (fax)
Biddeford, 207-283-1101 (phone), 207-283-4054 (fax)
Portland, 207-780-3575 (phone), 207-828-0380 (fax)
Caribou, 207-493-7873 (phone), 207-493-7810 (fax)
Bangor, 207-945-0417 (phone), 207-990-4604 (fax)
Augusta, 207-622-8414 (phone), 207-622-5884 (fax)
Lewiston, 207-784-6969 (phone), 207-782-6475 (fax)