Chris Bowers Is Back In Form By: Mark W Adams

Not that he ever really was slouching. Just that with all the primary nonsense it was easy to overlook the broad view, the changing demographics of the Democratic Party that Barack Obama has tapped into and have left Camp McClainton looking foolish as they sling mud out of the same old playbook; and using the wingnuts own lies to disprove their longstanding false allegations against us.

I still think that Democrats should accept Lieberman's claim that he was kicked out of the Democratic Party because of his support for endless war in Iraq. While it is an absurd claim, in terms of party image it is actually vastly superior to pointing out the obvious errors in Lieberman's argument. For a very long time, one of the most damaging national images associated with the Democratic Party is that we don't stand for anything. If we claim that yes, we kicked Lieberman out of the party because he supported Bush and McCain's endless war in Iraq, then it becomes pretty darn difficult to argue Democrats don't stand for anything. Such a claim makes us appear to hold a hard line on a deeply unpopular war, an image of principle and toughness on the defining issue of the decade.

Just as the Jeremiah Wright episode counter-intuitively helped Obama by quashing the "Obama is a Muslim meme," and also be providing an opening for Obama to make a groundbreaking speech on race in America, Lieberman can counter-intuitively help Democrats by claiming that he was kicked out of the part over his support for war in Iraq. Lieberman's claim might not be true, but it does make Democrats look tough and principled on a major issue. We should embrace Lieberman's charge whenever he makes it over the next several months, and follow it up by stripping his committee seat once we don't need him in the next Senate. This could be a defining moment for Democrats, and improve our image for a long time to come.

Drink at the soothing waters of progressive reason as you prep for ignoring tonight's debate by reading both of his posts linked above.