Centerfield

Thanks. I perused the comments. Good job, William.
Maybe, a few of the moderates will visit here regularly.
Seemed to me, emotional and partisans for the most part.

Alex

Judging by the comments following your own, William, I don't think they "got it."

Kevin Drum has an interesting crowd -- a very large crowd. Most of them fall in the "liberal Democrat" category, and many of those are pretty strident.

He's got quite a few folks, though, who have what seems like a truly independent sense of moderation -- e.g., it's very obviously in their own personal voice, and their own sense of pragmatism. Kevin attracts those folks moreso than guys like Kos and Atrios, because he looks at the issues that way himself a significant part of the time.

You notice a pretty dramatic difference between the two styles in his comments. There are the folks talking about the U.S. needing "a good ass-kicking", and hinting that the American flag might be seen as a symbol of repression. They don't seem to grasp that what's appealing to most voting Americans is a more positive sense for where we might be going, rather than the intensity of your dislike of current policy.

Democrats won't retake power as a result of "a good ass-kicking". It'll be because they know how to avoid getting our ass kicked.

What I found amusing was the number of people proclaiming that the Democrat Party is the moderate faction, and that all Republicans are extremists.

It reminded me strongly of what I find over on (surprise!) the partisan Republican blogs.

We're ALL moderate and reasonable people. Each and every one of us. (Where's a mockingly arch smiley when you need one?)

God, reading the comments on Drum's post is depressing. The consensus seems to be:
1) Moderates are stupid, otherwise they'd agree with us;
2) Moderates are insufferable prigs who think they're better than us;
3) We liberals are the moderates, and if you don't agree you're stupid and evil and one of them. And you're a troll, too!

Now I remember why I stopped reading Drum's comments.

Well stated argument, William!

I love the Tsongas quote too. He was the very first politician to run for President that I felt really reflected my values and ideals. It wasn't until McCain came along in 2000 that I found another who I could get solidly behind. Although, McCain's really a different kind of politician. I don't agree with him across the board. Rather what I find so incredibly appealing about him is that he says what he believes whether anyone likes it or not. And what he says defies conventional thinking visa vis the Right/Left divide. Dean was similiarly appealing to me for the same basic reasons. I am so sick and tired of being told patronizing white lies by politicians!

Anyway, nice post!

Oh yes, William. He posted a second comment below that as well that was equally appealing.

Yeah, that Tsongas quote is close to a credo. I can see collecting more such quotes and generating a daily or weekly thought.

Hostility from both wings is a good sign. They both see us as a threat, and are trying to marginalize us.

I couldn't agree more about investigating getting Terry Ott into our stable.

I sent him an email yesterday. Did it from my home account, so I won't know if he responded till I get home today.