From the Good Question file…

John Aravosis has a serious one. "With the congressional elections 6 months away," he wonders, "is it time for us to stop criticizing Democrats?"

Actually, he has a larger question than that.

Should the liberal blogs, and the Democrats grassroots more generally, cut back on their criticism of the party until after the November elections? Or is there a role for criticism in making the party better and helping the election at the same time?

To which my reply is yes. And yes.

The second yes first. When Democrats stray ethically, they should, of course, be challenged by a rigorous investigation, just as Nancy Pelosi has called for in the case of William Jefferson. Where there's a credible challenge to a sufficiently wayward Democrat, a primary with a reasonable chance of strengthening rather than weakening our caucus, an open intra-party debate can be a valuable process. When a Democratic official or candidate says something that weakens our case and our cause, he or she should properly be called to task. When Democratic organizations act imprudently, someone has to say so.

So to the second question? Yes.

But is it time, as the ticket for November comes together and public awareness of the impending elections grows, to limit our criticism? Absolutely. For starters, we can drop the snarky, gratuitous generalizations that only feed the stereotypes put forward by our political adversaries. Stuff like this, from the very post in which John poses his questions...

I think at some point we can hurt ourselves by helping create a public perception that our party has no message and is spineless. Then again, it's not like they need much help creating that perception - chicken and egg.

Of course, the messages promulgate by the House and Senate leadership may not be emphasized, or even adopted, by every candidate in every locality, but there is, and always has been, a Democratic message on a very wide range of issues, easily found by anyone who really cares. As to spine, that one was overplayed during the height of Deanmania and it's well past time for retirement. Again, whether it's Murtha on Iraq, Pelosi on corruption or Maria Cantwell taking Enron to the mat, there are excellent examples of Democrats taking strong, often courageous, stands at every turn.

It really goes back to my earlier point about being inspiring instead of bitching about not being inspired. Let's face it, all of us who do this harbor some hope that we can shape opinion, otherwise our sites would just be a compendium of headlines without comment. If we want victory in November, it's time start measuring our efforts against that goal.