The tea party of the left

According to Dana Milbank, a tea party of the left is emerging, with liberal purists turning against Democrats in Name Only.

From Dana Milbank, covering liberal protesters of Louisiana Democratic senate candidate Mary Landrieu, in Purity politics, Democrat-style – The Washington Post:

I’ve heard this argument before, coming from tea party activists who said that they would rather have a smaller but reliably conservative caucus than a large majority full of RINOs — Republicans in Name Only — who aren’t reliable votes. The emerging purists on the left aren’t nearly as strong as the tea party was (and they won’t be, as long as there’s a Democrat in the White House) but it’s noteworthy that Democrats are becoming more willing to purge those who aren’t ideologically pure.

The midterm elections, a protest against Washington dysfunction, have paradoxically reinforced the problem by sweeping moderate Democrats out of the Senate (and a few who had remained in the House). Many liberals will now say — as Republicans did after the 2006 and 2008 defeats — that the way back to the majority is to be pugnaciously progressive. This will be seen with immigration and other issues, too. President Obama has shown little interest so far in compromise, and Harry Reid, becoming Senate minority leader, is a former boxer who still loves to brawl.

There were seven police vehicles outside Landrieu’s house, a double-size, red-brick townhouse with shutters drawn, pink roses still blooming in front, a New Orleans Saints door ornament and a bumper sticker in the sidelight announcing “I’m with Mary.” But they didn’t intervene, even when the activists posed for photos on Landrieu’s front steps with their “Vote No KXL” signs. A guy in a San Francisco Giants cap led a call-and-repeat chant taunting Landrieu.

Karthik Ganapathy, a coordinator of the event from the climate-change group 350, was also pleased with the prospect of a smaller, more liberal Democratic caucus in the Senate. I asked whether he saw any difference between Landrieu and Cassidy.

“If there is, it’s marginal,” Ganapathy said. “And we think the value gained in showing the Democratic Party that they need to be better on climate issues outweighs the marginal differences. . . . This is about sort of instigating a cultural shift and a political shift that sends a message to politicians that they all need to be better on climate issues.”

In other words: Be pure, or be afraid.