DLC and Lieberman: typecast
by kos
Tue Mar 15, 2005 at 08:19:54 AM PDT
Such attacks put the DLC back on the front page--a fact that speaks to one of its ongoing sources of strength. For Washington journalists, the DLC is an ideal organization, frequently critical and readily accessible. Privately, DLC staffers complain that only controversy will bring coverage.
The DLCers like to pretend that it's all a big ideological witch hunt, with us big, bad bloggers going after Lieberman because he's not looney left (or something like that). But notice how Reid escapes the vitriol. Stephanie Herseth may not vote with Democrats 100 percent of the time, but when was the last time you saw her bash her own party? Ben Nelson, the Democrats' most wayward member when it comes time to vote, spent an entire hour on Russert's Meet The Press last Sunday, and didn't bash Democrats once.
Some Democrats live in tough places, and must stray from party orthodoxy to survive. Others stray from the party based on genuine differences of opinion. That's fine and a political reality we should be able to deal with. What is out of bounds is the propensity of Lieberman (and only Lieberman) to hit the talk show circuit for the express purpose of criticizing his fellow Democrats.
Just as it is out of bounds for the DLC -- at a time when the left is more unified than ever -- to demand the party purge millions of supporters from its ranks.
I assume the DLC's Marshall Wittmann isn't a dense idiot, he just plays one on TV his blog, since he refuses to see this point. Yesterday, he took to berating bloggers for targetting Lieberman, which he had just praised for voting against the bankruptcy bill. Of course, in a craven act of political caculus like no other, Lieberman voted for cloture -- the one vote that could've derailed the legislation. Lieberman protected the legislation when it matter, then voted against it when it didn't matter.
But Wittmann (a former Christian Coalition staffer) celebrates such political dishonesty, pretending that his hero is getting blasted for his ideology, rather than for his anti-Democratic behavior. But it's no coincidence that the DLC is in the same boat -- attacked for its anti-Democratic behavior even as it pretends to be persecuted for its ideology.
They are two sides of the same coin -- the media's handy tool for Democratic bashing. Enemies of unity of the left. Self-important fools who existmerely to advance the other side's agenda.
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