What's Wrong With the Democratic Machine, In a Nutshell

In a good story about the Ciro Rodriguez/Henry Cuellar primary battle in Texas' 28th Congressional District, the Houston Chronicle buried this gem:

"It's the old-time, bare-knuckle politics," said Richard Gambitta, a political scientist at the University of Texas at San Antonio. "It gives people a choice, which they do not often have in the Democratic Party."

Word. That's what I'm talking about. Brown-Hackett, Casey-Pennacchio, Cuellar-Rodriguez: those of us who want to reclaim the progressive values of the Democratic Party instead of constantly playing to an ever-more-conservative "center" must overturn the party politics that presume to select our nominees for us even before primaries are held. The party boss' way has resulted in the weakest Democratic Party in nearly 100 years. Our way will make it better.