digamma.net - notes

Kos and Atrios make a good point. I’ll quote Atrios:

There’s a difference between conservative Democrats, or even corporate whore Democrats*, and Fox News Democrats. As Kos notes, Petey’s smart enough to know this, so why does he pretend not to?

*No, corporate whore Democrats are not “free market” Democrats. Corporate whore Democrats are the ones who write special legislation for favored sectors at the expense of workers and consumers. See Bill, Bankruptcy.

This distinction is blurred on both sides, I think. The Joe Liebermans of the party want to conflate opposition to the war and Bush administration with general leftism. Some leftists, on the other hand, like to conflate support for, say, free trade with a wholesale embrace of Bush. (Amusing, since Bush’s trade policies are a protectionist nightmare.)

If Beinart were right and the Markoses of the world really wanted to crush conservative Democrats, Harry Reid would be toast. He’s anti-abortion, for god’s sake. But Reid stands up to the Republicans on torture and corruption, and so he gets a pass. That’s not about ideology, it’s about smart strategy.