Pretty shocking stuff...

…at Hullabaloo...

Leading Democrats tell the New York Times that it would be better if the party doesn't win in the fall --- and if it has the sad misfortune to do so, it would be better off not holding any investigations into the Bush administration.

…or it would be, if the folks Adam Nagourney styles as "some of the party's leading figures" actually had any followers. The strongest case for the benefit of defeat is Tony Coehlo, whose last partisan job was at the helm of the Gore disaster in 2000. Still, he's an active entry in many a media rolodex, always handy for a party-bashing quote in a pinch. Bill Clinton's quoted on the subject, too, but basically says the whole idea is nuts.

On the investigation front, former Rep.Martin Frost and former DNC Chair Joe Andrews are distressingly over-cautious, and former Senator Bob Kerrey weighs in with anxiety about the difficulty of leading the caucus through the investigatory minefield, but who, exactly, are they the leaders of? Former Democrats? They have no Party office, no political constituency and nothing resembling the influence that Nagourney's article implies.

These former pols are, with the possible exception of Kerrey, really familiar only to political junkies, which is the problem with articles like the New York Times piece that got Digby all riled up. The casual reader will see the titles the quoted Democrats once held and think they must still matter. They don't, but even as sophisticated an observer as Digby isn't completely immune to Nagourney's endless effort to diminish Democratic prospects, Democratic unity and, well, damn near anything that can be labeled Democratic.

Want a quote from a "leading Democrat"? How's this…

Former State Committeeman and District Party Chairman Shaun Dale said today that winning is everything.

He was a big deal once. Really.