Pain, No Gain
This isn't the first election in which the Democratic establishment has waged war against an innovative new candidate who seemed to come out of nowhere. What's different and weird about it is that in the recent past the innovative candidate (Gary Hart, for example) was also thought to be the more electable candidate, and the establishment was faulted for pandering to old-school liberalism.
Now it's all mixed up. Clinton Democrats admire Dean's grassroots energy and the zeal of his supporters, but fret that he has gained front-runner status through strategies that may cost him in November. Deanies attack the so-called "establishment" -- which produced the only two-term Democratic administration in the last three decades.
On the other hand, in the movies a sequel usually flops. And though I personally think the moderate/centrist concerns about Dean are valid, they're also too rational -- oblivious to basic human psychology and the primal emotions which drive political activism. It's telling that the more sensible the arguments against Dean seem, the more popular he becomes.
As the feuding drags on, both sides flirt with the totally pointless role of spoiler. Dean warns that his young, enthusiastic supporters will pull a Nader (well, so much for being the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party"). The establishmentarians, meanwhile, could succeed in toppling Dean but with him would go most of the morale and there's no guarantee that Clark or Edwards or Lieberman or anyone else would beat Bush. In a worst-case scenario, we'll have succeeded in driving away the next generation of Democrats while achieving absolutely nothing. Zilch.
Art Jacobson makes the point that we need not warring and defections, but Yellow Dog Democrats: "firm in their intention to go to the streets a half-million strong and defeat Bush regardless of who the Democratic candidate turns out to be." The variety and debate within our party is one of the things that I love about it, but eventually there's a point where it becomes self-defeating.
"Democratic" ads branding the probable nominee with Bin Laden's image are a pretty sure sign that such a point has been reached, don'tcha think?
9:27:44 AM 
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