A Second Simple Question, Straight Up

OK, this for Sirota, Mamet, Scher, and Cygur and the commenters on our various posts.

I just want to know. Do you really think that mainstream democrats who have passed on the Roberts nomination and don’t stand up against the Iraq war are, personally, cowards, without backbone etc.? Or is this your way of putting pressure on them, knowing that they are actually smart, tough political operatives making their calculations with the future in mind? I honestly can’t tell which it is. My guess is that you think that the mere act of making such calculations in the face of massive suffering is the same thing as cowardly. Is that right? Because if that’s it, you couldn’t be more wrong. All responsible political action is calculated. That is, based on an analysis of how things actually are and a decision about what can be done, given that analysis.

Just to make my own bottom line clear. My view is that the Democratic party (including Howard Dean at the helm of DNC) is utterly hollow, philosophically—bereft, bankrupt, clueless. Nothing left but tactics.