Why we need to Crash the Gate

Via Atrios, MyDD has an excellent post on why the current crop of establishment Democratic consultants has to go:

Follow the money. If you want to know why Democrats keep losing, don't offer advice, follow the money and get your hands dirty. You see, Democrats aren't losing because they are stupid. Democrats are losing because a significant portion of the operative class is paid to undermine successful populist positions. Just follow the money.

And where are these campaign consultants getting their money?

All of these lobbyists/PR people (including Steve Elmendorf) have telecom companies as their clients, and are working against net neutrality. If you want to know why the Democratic party has a muddled message, look no further than the conflicts of interest in trying to run a populist campaign when your other clients have a direct financial interest in not seeing a campaign like that succeed.

[emphasis added] Again, Democrats need to rid themselves of these losers. Why would I hire someone to run my campaign if they get the majority of their money from various corporate interests? Won't they end up serving the interests of those who pay them the most money? If I'm running a campaign, shouldn't my operatives be primarily loyal to me and the party? That's the central thesis of Crashing the Gate (see sidebar).

In many ways, the Lieberman-Lamont primary battle is a proxy war between the Democratic "operative class" and the dissatisfied voters and activists (and bloggers) who are sick of them. That's why this race has attracted so much attention.