You Down Wit' DLC? The DLC national conversation has brought another round out of the circular firing squads.

This really has to stop. On both sides. DLC types need to stop calling everyone to the left of Joe Lieberman on foreign policy "uneasy with patriotism". The word you're looking for is nationalism, and we should be uneasy about it. To my eyes, it's almost always the DLC who throws the first punch in this fight, as they seem eager to engage in Sistah Souljah politics on foreign policy, despite the lack of evidence that this strategy works (if you think "support the war and move on to prescription drugs" worked like a charm for House Democrats, I have some real estate in Florida you might be interested in). Last I checked, basic humanity and a desire not to see your countrymen killed was an American value. So let's stop magnifying the hard left, which doesn't really exist in any force in the US, and start magnifying those of us who think war isn't something to look forward to, and figure out how to achieve American interests without force where possible and with force where necessary.

Likewise, out-and-out liberals have to stop looking for this punch to be thrown. If the DLC says something that rankles you, don't give in to the kneejerk response to go on another anti-DLC tirade. They're getting Democrats elected in some territory that's pretty unfriendly to Democrats at the national level right now. Tom Kaine's got a 50-50 shot at retaining the governorship in Virginia, Evan Bayh represents the otherwise crimson red Indiana, Janet Napolitano and Bill Richardson represent fuschia-colored states .. having Democrats in positions of leadership is a good thing, because it proves that Democrats can govern, which in the end is the best way to make more Democrats. Some of the DLCers may be a bit more pro-business than you'd like, but they usually represent states that have low standards of living and therefore feel the need to work harder to attract outside investment.

As Bill Clinton told Yitzhak Rabin, one does not make peace with one's friends. We've got much bigger fish to fry at the moment, so can we please stop calling one another unpatriotic or disloyal to the party or tough on pregnant mothers or soft on terrorists or whatever it is where squabbling about today?

Oliver Willis and Ezra Klein have more. But Oliver, the DLC is against DR-CAFTA, since it's not actually a free trade bill by any stretch of the imagination.