Front page diary by Markos.. Begala out to pasture. Tom Rinaldo post also.

[madfloridian]

Tom Rinaldo from DU had a great post there today on the subject of Begala's insults to Dean.

Begala Vs Dean. Does It Really Matter?

People started to pay attention. Kos picked this up at Hotline. Good diary.

Please, someone put Begala out to pasture

As Charlie Cook wrote a few weeks ago:

Although organizing in Mississippi might not seem important to Pelosi and Reid -- after all, the state won't have competitive House or Senate races this year -- at some point, conservative Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor will retire, and then the House Democratic leadership may see the wisdom of their party already having a presence in southern Mississippi. When Republican Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott retire, the Senate Democratic leadership just might have a similar revelation. Keep in mind that if Lott had opted to retire at the end of this year, as many had expected, Democrats would have had a pretty fair shot at winning that seat by running former state Attorney General Mike Moore.

The Democratic congressional leaders' shortsighted, penny-wise/pound-foolish complaints show why their party has become bicoastal. Congressional Democrats have trouble winning in many interior states, in part because leaders like Reid and Pelosi have failed to appreciate the importance of maintaining a strong national party apparatus. The Democrats' inability to consistently win elections in places where gun shops outnumber Starbucks is a big reason the party controls neither the House nor the Senate.

Right now, one of the biggest obstacles to Democrats' taking the House back is their failure to recruit strong candidates in many Republican-held districts that ought to be in play. Party building means lining up a solid team -- organizing and winning lower-level offices that give the party a talented bench from which to draw for higher contests.

Dean's view -- that Pelosi, Reid, and their party committees have their jobs and he has his -- is the one that he ought to stick to.

And here's Tom Rinaldo's post:

Begala Vs Dean. Does It Really Matter?

Good diary.

Attacks like the one Begela made yesterday on CNN against Dean's 50 State organizing strategy can not be ignored. The way I see it, stories coming out of a number of States lately strongly support Howard Dean's strategic premise of supporting local organizing in areas long neglected by Democrats. Colorado, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Arizona, and New Mexico come quickly to mind. A few years ago I would have included New Hampshire except for the fact that now New Hampshire has become a competitive State for Democrats.

[acmavm]

1. Carville and Begala have had their 'day in the sun'. They need

to go away, just go away. Quietly.

[AtomicKitten]

2. What they need to do is start supporting the DNC Chair and

stop resisting his decisions. I'm not into calls to purge anybody, really. I respect the work that Begala and Carville did for Bill Clinton.

What I find truly despicable is any Democrat that joins the RNC chorus against any Democrat. What troubles me most is their undercutting of the DNC chair and that is counterproductive on so many levels. They need to support Dean or STFU.

[madfloridian]

4. There's room for everyone...

I just want there to be a place for me as well. I want my senator to respond to his constituents. I want our state chairman not to say to do away with primaries....but I talked with her today and that's a diary by itself. She listened very well. I was impressed.

[democrank]

3. I`m often befuddled

as to why Paul Begala would ever be chosen to voice the Democrat`s side during any talking heads segment on cable. It seems his main goal is to stay on the Beltway A Team, which means he must degrade and insult anyone who presents a grassroots challenge. Begala is a sellout.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. The (RW) media chooses the pundits ..... not the party

Some of them are like Alan Colmes ... but with balls.

[madfloridian]

5. Begala up again on Situation Room. Standing by.

More airtime.

[MaineDem]

6. But Dean will be on Colbert next week

That should be good.

[madfloridian]

8. Colbert or Daily Show? Monday is Daily Show.

Anyway either would be interesting. Lots of stuff from this week for fodder. :hi:

[MaineDem]

9. It may be both

I thought I read Colbert but I could be wrong. In any case... good news.