It’s time to burn the boats.

[More Than A Feeling]

Senator Feingold’s recent call for equal marriage rights for gays confirms that he is the presidential candidate to revolutionize the Democratic Party. If we can get him nominated, it will end the dominance of the old party establishment.

The Democratic consulting class just committed hara-kiri at the thought of a Feingold nomination. The ones who have been driving Democratic strategy for the past decade and a half will be out of a job. Senator Feingold won’t listen to them. He can’t. In the last year or so, his actions have publicly repudiated every worn-out nostrum they have to offer. He’s been out in front on bringing the troops home, censure, and gay marriage. Three issues that beltway conventional wisdom holds are surefire losers for Democrats. He’s publicly associated with those fiends known as bloggers, giving the traditional media the collective vapors. Finally, he’s publicly called out his own party leaders for refusing to stand up for what is right, calling them cowards. It’s a stark contrast to an elite favorite, Joe Lieberman. When Lieberman calls out his party, he sounds like one of them, a Republican. When Senator Feingold calls out his party, he sounds like one of us.

No other candidate we could nominate expresses our values so well. If we go with him, there is no going back. Senator Feingold is who he is, and his history is one of strong, clear, and consistent stands. It will be a true test of the country’s support of our values in these circumstances. No more equivocating, no more triangulating. Like Cortez, we must burn our boats before we can conquer.