Kick a rabid Blue Dog out of the party …

Glenn Greenwald says it’s time for the Democrats in Congress to boot the Blue Dogs.

Greenwald argues, quite unconvincingly, that the Blue Dogs are to blame for the Democratic “cave” to Bush on FISA, Iraq and more. His bottom line:

At the moment, the Blue Dog contingent is dominant in the Democratic caucus and drives much of what the caucus does. The more Blue Dogs there are in the Democratic caucus, the more dominant they will be.

Uhh, Glenn, Pelosi and Obama personally voted for FISA. On FISA, 45 percent of House Dems voted in favor.

This is far more than a “Blue Dogs” issue.

Or let them lie?

Ed Kilgore (shock me) sayslet them lie.

But, per what I noted above, Kilgore reinforces that Congressional Dems’ progressive shortcomings are more than a Blue Dog issue:

According to Congressional Quarterly's (subscription-only) voting analysis, House Democrats achieved the highest level of party unity in history last year, with 92 percent sticking together on party-line votes (as compared with the low of 58 percent back in 1972). Senate Democrats' party-unity rating in 2007 was 87 percent, just below their all-time high of 89 percent (achieved in 1999 and 2001), and far above the levels common in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

In other words, Passive Pelosi™ and other House leadership should look in the mirror before applying their boots to anybody else.

Beyond that, Kilgore claims that intraparty challenges to incumbents on the basis of ideology don’t often work.