It's been amazing to watch the congressional testimony on Iraq. Tough questions and potentially even tougher actions, and a few waffling ingrates, but overall, it appears that there is a possibility the checks and balances our founders built into our democracy will actually work.
As someone who spends a significant amount of time watching how narratives are built, how they transfer from the online world to offline media, and ultimately evolve into conventional wisdom, the hearings are the culmination of two plus years of diligent effort of the progressive community online.
If you go back the progressive community's support of Howard Dean in 2003, you see the echoes yesterday in the questioning that Secretary Rice got.
If you go back to early 2005 and the online community's call for withdrawal from Iraq and the Kerry-Feingold Amendment - which the Democratic Senate leadership tried to stop then, again, you see the echoes now.
From truly supporting our men and women in uniform and not draping coffins with flags and calling it love, the online community has led the way.
Actually, it's not even the online community.
It's the Progressives within the party who lead. It's just now they lead from the web because it is the ultimate tool for gathering progressives, debating, organizing and energizing. Why post a flyer at a store when you can post a post for the world to see?
There should have been an extra seat at the hearings yesterday. For people like Wes Boyd from MoveOn. For Markos and Jerome, for Atrios and Chris Bowers, for Christy, Jane and Taylor Marsh. They wouldn't have been sitting there for themselves but for each and every one of us, for everyone who has signed a petition, opened an email or sent a $25 contribution to air a tv spot they haven't even seen yet.
Trust me, the Democrats and the Republicans up there yesterday didn't find their backbone in the halls of Congress.
You gave it to them.
Pray don't stop now.