Worth repeating.

Yglesias:

I totally understand the need to provide a patina of bipartisanship, but it strikes me as a big mistake for the American Progress / Century Foundation event to feature Gordon Smith as a speaker...Smith's from Oregon, he's got an eminently winnable seat. The last thing progressives need to be doing is helping him bolster his moderate credentials.

"patina of bipartisanship". Harrumph. As a big-tent Party regular, I'm generally dismayed by the 'progressive first, Democrat on election day' mentality, largely because it leads to this kind of thing. You know, the whole idea of 'good' Repubicans, whether Senator Smith from the lower upper left or those Women From Maine.

Remember, not so very long ago Gordon Smith was a compliant cog in the rubber stamp Republican Senate that abandoned oversight, judgement and the Constitution pursuing their dream of a permanent majority. The combined influence of a new Democratic organizational majority and the proximity of his next election may have liberated Smith's inner Frenchman a bit, but his goal is to remain a Republican Senator and regain a Republican majority.

The 'bad' Republicans couldn't do their damage without the 'good' Republicans.

That's why…