Alex Ruthrauff at Wonkette must be reading our mind:
On Monday, beltway bullshit scorecard POLITICO reported that nominal Democratic senators like Joe Manchin, Claire McCaskill, and Heidi Heitkamp appear eager to help the new Republican majority advance legislation. Manchin even called the idea of not working with Republicans to promote their agenda “bullshit.” They probably think that burnishing their “moderate centrist” credentials in this way will help them keep their jobs when they face the voters in 2018. They are wrong.
Assuming a Democrat is elected president in 2016, and middle class wages remain stagnant or continue to shrink, here is what will happen to Joe Manchin and Claire McCaskill and Heidi Heitkamp in 2018: They will lose. [snip]
Let them lose. Then start running Democrats who are recognizable as Democrats in a blind taste test. Even in places where the conventional wisdom says they won’t play well. These candidates will almost certainly lose too, at first. But at least the party’s resources will be spent on promoting candidates who support the core agenda that rank and file Democrats go out and vote for.It doesn't matter if these three turds have a "D" beside their name anymore (and we would add soon-to-lose Mary Landrieu). They didn't stand behind Harry Reid for Minority Leader. They don't support core Democratic principles. Indeed, they're willing to hop in the sack with ethical black hole Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell (Money-KY) at the earliest craven opportunity. God, we're tired of these spineless careerists taking resources away from progressive Democrats. They're up for re-election in 2018, which is a long time away, but we'll be damned if one cent of ours goes to any of them (three more reasons, if more were needed, not to contribute to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee). Until then, they should be marginalized by the leadership whenever necessary.
BONUS: Charles P. Pierce adds his take on the turncoats, with special attention to Landrieu.
