If the fringe takes over, what of the center?

MoveOn PAC recently sent a letter to Terry McAuliffe, the beleaguered DNC chairman, excoriating the Democratic Party for its ineptitude in recent elections, and telling him that MoveOne and other grassroots organizations have "bought" the party and now "own" it.

MoveOn to Democratic Party: 'We Own It':
"'In the last year, grass-roots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the party doesn't need corporate cash to be competitive,' the message continued. 'Now it's our party: we bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it back.'"

Now I'm fairly conservative. (I usually say "center-right.") I think it would be a terrible tragedy if the DNC caved in to MoveOn and its ilk, because it would mean the end of a viable voting option for millions of moderate Democrats, women and men who may have voted for Clinton but didn't much like Kerry—and no way in hell would they ever have voted for Howard Dean.

(Speaking of Dean, electing him as the new DNC chair would be a sign of the party's fateful shift toward the fringe.)

That $300 million may as well be solid gold. It might sound good to a party that for the last few elections has barely kept its head above water. But if the Democrats sell out to MoveOn and other fringe efforts, they will soon find themselves on the ocean floor, bloated and lifeless.