Is moderation necessary?

Not anymore!

I case you haven't noticed, this is war, folks!

The Anonymous Liberal:

In an article for the American Prospect, Scott Winship weighs in on the debate over whether the 'netroots' (i.e. liberal bloggers and activists) are ideologues intent driving the Democratic party leftward or pragmatists intent on helping the party win. Winship writes:

Reading the major blogs oriented toward the netroots community, it is difficult to discern issue priorities or positions that are shared and
emphasized by a strong majority of
netroots members, with two important
exceptions to which I will return later.

In this sense, the netroots really are
non-ideological. Moulitsas and others have repeatedly described themselves as primarily concerned with winning and building a
majority.

Hence, they will generally support relatively moderate candidates in red states. Their only litmus test, they claim, is that Democrats must not shy away from or undermine the party.

That pretty much squares with my sense of what animates the netroots, and it flies squarely in the face of know-nothings like David Brooks and Marshall Wittman who insist that the liberal bloggers are a bunch of far-left 'McGovernites with modems.'