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guest post by Taylor Marsh 

Did you wake up feeling like something was missing? According to Mort Kondracke, it is nothing short of your political soul. Now, for political agnostics that might not mean much. However, for some of us, losing our Democratic soul is serious.

This is no exaggeration: The soul of the Democratic Party — and possibly the future of civility in American politics — is on the line in the Aug. 8 Senate primary in Connecticut. – Mort Kondracke (sub. req.)

It’s all about Joe, or rather, the challenge to Senator Lieberman’s entitlement of office. Josh Marshall said it right earlier this morning, in a follow up post contemplating Mort’s latest meanderings.

Following up on that, I think the Lieberman skeptics are really on to something when they point out that in the Kondracke’s and others there is this sense that for a well-liked-in-the-beltway senior pol like Lieberman to face a primary challenge is somehow a genuine threat to the foundations of the system. You’d think he was a life peer, if not an hereditary noble, suddenly yanked out of the House of Lords and forced to run for his seat like they do in the Commons. – Josh Marshall

Evidently, Marshall Wittmann didn’t get the memo. You know Marshall. He’s the former Christian Coalition official and GOP operative who loves to give Democrats advice. I’ve mentioned him before, but today it doesn’t hardly seem worth it. His spiral into silliness is almost sad. But it’s hard to feel sorry for an unreformed Republican in our midst.

The Connecticut race is not just about Joe, but about the long-term political health of the Democrats. And this vile swiftboating of Joe could long plague the donkey. – The Liberalism of Fools, by Marshall Wittmann

When a supposed Democrat starts parroting Mort Kondracke and Bush supporters there really is no point in listening anymore. Remind you of anyone?

“If we leave Iraq before the Iraqis are able to self-govern and self-defend, it greatly strengthens Iran’s hand,” he said. “Iran will take this as a sign that the U.S. does not have the will to win the war against terrorism. …" – Senator Joe Lieberman (via Mort Kondracke’s "Lieberman Race Pits Moderation vs. Hatred-Politics" – Roll Call)

Is that a neocon talking, or is being part of the oppposition party not good enough for you anymore?

Being lectured by the likes of Kondracke and Wittmann on "hatred-politics" and "swiftboating" is like listening to Ann Coulter talk about civility in political discourse. Kondracke is so desperate he brings up "one commenter" who supposedly let fly an anti-Semitic rant. One commenter on a blog, that’s your proof? Wittmann continues his own brand of "hatred-politics" by accusing Lamont supporters of swiftboating Joe Lieberman. As somewhat of an expert on the subject of swiftboating, this charge is, let’s just say, a tad hysterical.

There’s one other item the D.C. elite forget. The latest poll shows Lamont surging ahead of Lieberman. That poll comes out of Connecticut; not out of the progressive blogosphere. The people of Joe’s own state are deciding this one.