Their Inner Lieberman

By Cernig

Pachacutec over at FDL today has a long hard look at bloggy progressive support for Dem candidates, which leaves him waiting for the other shoe to drop.

we have no progressive candidate. We have no Wellstone, no Feingold, no ideologically based movement person. My question is this: which of these candidates is more likely to reveal an inner Lieberman of some form once in power? I don't have an answer. People can believe what they choose to believe, but both candidates have Liebermanish historical tendencies and both propel narratives reminiscent of Lieberman, the earlier years.

Thier "inner Lieberman". That deserves to enter the lexicon. It puts very well what my own problems are with both Obama and Clinton.

The rest of the post is an empassioned and well-argued appeal to bloggers and their commenters to drop their antagonistic rivalry - so conducive to the catapulting of Republican propaganda - and return to a position of holding all candidates' feet to the fire for the better of the progressive movement rather than one candidates electoral chances.

The ultimate question I will have for supporters of either candidate during these days of pie fights will be, whoever gets power, what will you hold your winning candidate accountable for once in office, assuming s/he wins? If your winner gets some accountability fire from people who once supported your opponent, will you simply defend your winner, or will you join in for merited criticism?

It's an admirable position and one I and the rest of the folks at Newshoggers will endevour to hold - even those of us who have already endorsed one candidate. But I fear we'll be drowned out by the campaigns themselves and by far larger trafficked blogs who have chosen to descend into the mire alongside their chosen campaign team. They too have their "Inner Lieberman" to contend with.