As Booman said, “If there is a case that can be made for a big tent within the Democratic Party that includes some very conservative members, there is no case for members that lie to us about how they will vote and then contemptuously call us naïve.”
Jerry McNerney is a big netroots hero, and that’s why his recent comments — which seemed to further a distorted Republican narrative that somehow this wasn’t the bloodiest summer ever in Iraq, and that if only the Democrats would stop being so partisan and reach across the aisle, all the problems of the war could be solved — was so disappointing. The people who supported him on Blue America did so largely because of his strong anti-war stance. We invited local blogger and McNerney constituent Babaloo, who worked tirelessly to help get him elected, to blog about it here and here.
We were under a lot of pressure to take McNerney off the Blue America page, but we wanted to give him the opportunity to come on the site and speak to our community about his comments. It is to his credit that he is willing to do so. It’s not only a brave move for him, it’s a really important moment for Blue America as we seek to maintain the relationship with candidates and keep the lines of communication open after the election is over. I hope you’ll join us today for a special edition of Blue America with Congressman Jerry McNerney at 6pm PT/9pm ET here on Firedoglake.