The Long Knives Come Out

Simply delicious . . .

I’ve noted on multiple occasions the whiny tendencies of Rahm Emanuel. Rather
than running on a progressive winning set of messeages [sic], Rahm has decided
that primping before the press as ‘Rahmbo’ while whining about progressives
will give him a win-win. If we win the house, he’s a hero. If we lose the House,
it’s because of bloggers/Al Sharpton/Lamont/ Moveon/Soros/Pelosi. [snip]
And I hear a lot that even though progressives don’t agree with him, he’s at
least a strategist. Let me just say that no he is not. Party strategists do
not scream at major donors in public to journalists, because if they do then
they create a disincentive for participation. Party strategists do not attack
progressives in a progressive year and create policy platforms that immediately
discount Democratic ability to accomplish anything. Party strategists do not
race-bait against African-American leaders. Party strategists force candidates
to do a good job, not to hire the right consultants. Party strategists do not
call a right-wing Independent that needs Republican votes to win in Connecticut
a ‘Democrat’.

Rahm Emanuel is not a party strategist. He is an extremist ideologue, a Bourbon
Democrat, and he will be a huge problem for progressives moving forward. Progressives
would do well to develop our own set of strategic coordinators, rather than
thinking that someone like Rahm Emanuel is at this point anything but destructive
and selfish.

From the would-be Robespierre of the Nutroots Revolution, Matt
Stoller of MyDD (as condensed by RealClearPolitics).
Hey Matt, Rahm Emmanuel at one time worked in the White House because, you know,
he helped Clinton win an actual presidential election to get there.
Meanwhile, your buddy Kos probably won’t even get Lamont out of Connecticut and into the Senate.

What’s in your portfolio other than a lot of whining?

No, I am not defending the execrable Rahm Emmanuel here, just sitting on the
sidelines enjoying the crap out of your little catfight, to which I say: more!
A pox on both your houses.

P.S. Tom Bevan at the RCP link above rightly notes the irony of Matt Stoller, of all people, calling Emmanuel an ‘extremist ideologue’. Heh, I am scratching my head over that one. Surely Stoller isn’t claiming that Emmanuel is to his left, is he? Or . . . is he implying that by not drinking the Kos Kool-Aid, Emmanuel must be some kind of neocon . . . ? I know it makes no sense, but look at who is making the accusation. Maybe Stoller means that Emmanuel is a centrist, which would make him an extreme right-winger among Democrats these days, wouldn’t it.
Crossposted from WILLisms.com