Josh Trevino says that Kos and the Bush-deranged “netroots” are following an old, paranoid model:

Consider the average member of this group. He (or she) remembers the era of leftist dominance of American politics

Here:

Hmm. From “finances” to “astrology” into “politics” in a seemingly easy progression. What is the common element in Armstrong’s blogging efforts in these three successive areas? Answer: BS! Armstrong defended bad stocks, then he defended junk theories of the universe, then he conned a generation of Democrats into thinking they were going to win the 2002 midterms! Now he’s promoting Mark Warner.

That I hope that Mitch McConnell is the next Senate majority leader.

I revere the American flag as a symbol of freedom. But behind it is something larger

…that the Democrats won’t have a nationally televised convention this year. If they did, this is what the public would see (and here’s the whole thing for non-subscribers):

…in bigger-than-life projection was an extended trailer for Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, which played to a nearly instantaneous standing ovation. In addition, the conference screened other documentaries, some innocuous (The Motherhood Manifesto, featuring Rosie the Riveter balancing a baby on her bicep) and others not (Iraq for Sale, whose name is self-explanatory).

Down below, on the concourse level, signs flanking entrances into the Hilton’s 45,000-square-foot exhibition hall and its vendor booths read, “We know what to do: Impeach him.” On top of NOW, NARAL, ACORN, and the ACLU (which still contends it is nonpartisan), there was the Backbone Campaign, which sold miniature spines to discourage purchasers from engaging in yes-man, convictionless support of their politicians.

Attendees cautious of “establishment politicians” also seemed to be looking for signs of spinelessness at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in the Hilton’s International Ballroom, a classy combination of contemporary architecture bathed in florid adornments. That’s when Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Kerry, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi were to begin their back-to-back-to-back speechmaking.

Before the main event, two graying, hippie-looking men in the third row hoisted a handmade banner that read, in all caps, “IMPEACH BUSH.” (This was becoming the unofficial theme of the week.) Wild applause erupted, and several people nearby, energized by their proximity to this agitation, felt compelled to stand in solidarity and raise peace signs. This horrified the conference leaders, who discouraged such displays and constantly reminded attendees, whom they treated like mischievous children, to “be respectful.”

Not a pretty picture. That’s why I suspect that the Donkeys are going to be disappointed again this fall.

David Bernstein discusses:

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve had several correspondences along these lines, none challenging the points I raised (though not necessarily assenting, either), but simply arguing that any such points are completely irrelevant, because all that matters is whether or not Israel violated international law.

It has struck me that debating such people is just as frustrating and unproductive as arguing with a religious believer about some matter within the scope of his religious belief–just substitute “God says so” for “international law says so.”