Because none of the Democratic candidates suck. No. really. Despite what you've heard from various people around this place lately, none of the "Democrats" is really a Republican, none of them are Bush-lite, and none of them killed your mother and then hid her body. That evil, centrist Hillary Clinton has a Progressive Punch Score of 91%, good for 16th in the whole senate. And that noted hater of labor, Barack Obama, has excellent ratings from labor organizations. Joe Biden, despite an unfortunate tendency to open mouth and insert foot, has been the best critic of the Republican field. Dennis Kucinich, for all of his quirks, is the most uncompromisingly liberal voice in the race. Chris Dodd has been the loudest voice in the whole field on civil liberties issues. And John Edwards, well, read pretty much any diary on this site to find out why people like John Edwards.

(expanded from a comment I made last night, because I love hearing myself talk)

Teenage riot in a public station
Gonna fight and tear it up in a hypernation for you

-Sonic Youth

This site is angrier than I've ever seen it. I've lived through "Armando Sucks", through the judicial confirmations, through Brown/Hackett and the Pie Wars. And I don't think it's ever been this bad. This is understandable. Between the war in Iraq, FISA, Abu Ghraib, rising income inequality, wiretapping, a SCOTUS lilting toward the right and 700,000 other issues, there's a lot to be pissed about. And, although I'm not all that mad at Democrats myself, I recognize that there's a lot to be pissed about there as well. The MoveOn vote was unnecessary, no matter how dumb the ad was, attempts to overcome Republican blockading have been ineffective, and FISA passed with plenty of Dem support. So I understand the sentiment. But you've got a choice.

Either find new ways to express it, or find new avenues to enact change.

I'm a member of what I would imagine is a relatively small group of people here at Dkos; people with no candidate preference in the upcoming presidential primaries. As a result, I've gotten a pretty solid "outsider's" perspective on what's going on in the primary wars. I feel that's put me in a pretty good position to say this:

Stop acting like jerks. I'm serious. Like...now. Because it's annoying as hell, and it's doing more harm than any of you seem to realize.  

I've been closely following the debate surrounding Jon Chait's book  (excerpted in The New Republic) about the rise of supply side economics and the cranks behind it. The debate fascinates me for a few reasons. For starters, Chait is my favorite columnist out there right now. He also went to the most important college ever. more importantly, the debate has provided an interesting view into the mind of conservatives like McMegan and Grover Norquist. The Norquist bit is particularly interesting, because he's remarkably up-front about the motivations behind much of conservative rhetoric behind tax cuts, and what he says provides a window into the operation of the current Republican movement as a whole.

I don't know if anyone will care, I don't know if anyone will buy it, but Peter Beinart has a column up at TNR.com right now explaining his support for the Iraq War. It's honest, too, or at least strikes me as so, and doesn't seem particularly interested in making excuses. It sounds like one of the biggest liberal proponents of the Iraq War has learned a few lessons.

More on the flip...

There have been an awful lot of impeachment diaries lately, and the vast majority of them have been strongly in support of the idea. Someone's gotta present the other side, and it might as well be the guy (yes, guy. Write that down) whose very first diary was entitled Why I Oppose Impeachment, and who later wrote a diary entitled Lessons From the Clinton Impeachment.

So here goes. While I understand the desire to remove what amounts to probably the worst administration since U.S. Grant, I think the push for impeachment is misguided in several ways.

More on the flip...

CNN is the latest media outlet to write a "how will Democrats deal with all these new conservative members?" story. Unlike many Kossacks here, I'm willing to concede that many of these new members are more Conservative than the typical Congressional Democrat. While not all of the new class is moderate to conservative, Representatives-elect like the Indiana trio and Heath Schuler are socially fairly conservative.

But this question of how Democrats will possibly get anything done with these new members is a silly one for two reasons; One, this isn't anything new. And two, Dems get to control the agenda.

More on the flip...

There is a theory in political science that says elections are often decided as far as six months to a year and a half in advance of election day. The reason? That's usually around the time when candidates decide whether or not to run. In potentially close races, the quality of the candidate can make all of the difference in the world. When discussing potential gains in the context of terrible Bush poll numbers, the war in Iraq, corruption, scandal and everything else that has happened in the past year, don't forget what happened a year and a half ago; we destroyed them in getting the candidates we wanted.

Ok. So with all the diaries about Karl Rove, and all the diaries about voter disenfranchisement, and all the diaries about election fraud, and all the diaries about October Surprises, and all the diaries about weak-kneed Democrats and blind electorates, I think it's easy to lose sight of a few very simple facts; your work matters, your money matters, your vote matters, and none of that is going to be taken away.

The reason? These guys just aren't that brilliant.

More on the flip...

As a recent spate of news stories show, the "angry young lefty blogger" stereotype is in full flower right now. Because of that, I thought it might be useful to have a diary showing how heterogeneous we here at Daily Kos really are. So here goes; I  want to know how you think you differ from the average Kossack in  major categories; demographics, ideology, strategy/rhetoric, and miscellaneous. I'm hoping it will show how diverse the users of the site really are, and show what Kossacks consider the typical user to be.

I guess I'll start...

As any Kossack not living under a rock knows, Jon Tester defeated John Morrison in the Democratic primary for Montana Senate. Defeated him handily, well outside anything anyone I know expected.

While the margin of victory was surprising, what was even more surprising to me was the primary itself. And I believe we are doing a great disservice to it.

More on the flip.

If you'll forgive me the self-indulgence of all this, it seemed easier than answering individual emails asking where I went. Hopefully I've got enough mojo built up that this won't degenerate into a recipe-fest. Especially since I can't cook for shit.

You see, I've taken a job with the DLC. I'll be their internet consultant, doing blog outreach to convince you damn lefties that centrism really is the way to go. Blogging has provided a lot of people with wonderful opportunities, and when Al From dropped me an email last week, I just couldn't resist...

No, I'm just kidding. The thing is, I need a break. Badly. I've got some pretty significant changes coming up in my life (recent college graduate, law school etc.), and I'm finding myself feeling more and more frayed. So, as much as I've enjoyed being a part of this community, I need some time off.

More on the flip...

Vanity Fair has done the impossible. They've made me feel, just a little bit, sorry for Scott McClellan. Their latest issue includes a profile of him, written by Michael Wolff, and it's brutal to the extent that you almost want to pity the guy. It's also incredibly revealing of a White House that's totally, insultingly out of touch and doesn't even know it.

More on the flip...

In the words of Inigo Montoya, "you keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means." It's become increasingly popular around these parts lately to use the term "DLC" as a way to tar any politician, tactic, or Dkos member that is unpopular. "What else would you expect from a member of the DLC?" etc.

This is fine I guess, but too often the term is used in a way that shows that the user is entirely unaware of what the DLC really is, and, just as important, what it isn't.

More on the flip...

It's funny. Out of all the speeches and all the hugs and all of the tear-laden glances, quickly averted, it was the bowl of M&Ms that made me cry.

We lost this one. Not really a surprise, but certainly a grave disappointment. Whether because of poor tactics, the impossibility of being a minority, lack of conviction, fear, or traitor Dems, Samuel Alito will be on the Supreme Court.

We lost, and we got knocked down.

It's time to get up off the mat.

I want a filibuster. You want a filibuster. Everyone on this site wants a filibuster. And while a plurality of Americans do not want a filibuster, 38% do.

This desire for a filibuster has led to a lot of vote counting and speculating. Can the Democrats get to 41? So far, Ben Nelson of Nebraska is the only Senator indicating he will vote in favor of confirmation, and Chris Bowers over at MyDD has this to say:

From what I have heard, right now the "no" votes on Alito are somewhere in the range of 44-47, and the filibuster votes are somewhere in the range of 37-40. In other words, we are close, but not there yet. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the weak Senators are on the filibuster vote, so I can't give you any information which contacts would be best to make.

So, can Democrats get to 41? In my opinion, this is the wrong question. The real question should be, can Democrats get to 51. Cause without 51, 41 doesn't matter.

More on the flip...

CNN/USA today/Gallup released a poll today, and the news isn't great for the good guys. A majority of respondents want Alito confirmed, while a plurality sees a filibuster as unwarranted.

Grim news on the flip...