This is getting ridiculous! What does one find on the front page of DailyKos today? Not a discussion of Republican obstructionism. Not productive discussions on the economy. Not interesting candidates for 2010. Nope. Instead we're treated to screeds and jeremiads against Jane Hamsher, Ariana Huffington, and this president's other progressive critics. Whether you agree with them or not, the trend is disturbing. I wish kos and other front page diarists would address it, rather than adding fuel to the fire.
It's like we're fracturing into ideological splinter groups. I see this as a fatal flaw of the left: the tendency toward ideological division. If Jane Hamsher and others want to form a Left Opposition to the President, then why criticize? The end goals are the same, even if tactics differ.
Is any President entitled to loyalty from any movement-driven group? The man is not the goal, and the president's agenda does not define progressivism. Some believe that tough judgment is healthy. It's dialectic: To achieve a more leftward synthesis, you must propose a radical antithesis. If you defend the status quo, you're defending the synthesis, and the antithesis is controlled by the opposition party. The result will be inevitable pull toward the opposition.
On the other hand, there's something to be said for blind loyalty and devotion. It helps shield "your guy" from his critics. Politics is a contact sport, and we're all on the same team. If the quarterback starts quarreling with his linemen, it's going to get ugly for someone.
That said, I'd also point out that publishing articles denouncing your erstwhile ideological friends... actually draws attention to them, their ideas, and their programs. It's good for business. As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity.
So really, for the good of the President, progressivism, liberalism, ecosocialism, and the children, lay off the attacks on progressive activists? Even if they act super silly, please? It's a long way from questioning a politician to becoming this guy.
Thank you, I will return the soapbox to its previous corporate masters. Good day!