c@lbob
I just heard a pretty illustrative reason for why tolerating “good” conservatives is a bad idea.
The US Chamber of Commerce has spent over $150 M is anti-Obama activities since he took office. That’s $3M a week. Obama has gotten some things accomplised, to his credit, but even those wins have been pilloried and minimized by the Chamber. And the losses, or wins for the Chamber; no energy bill, no card check, no cap and trade, are demoralizing to the Democratic base.
Couple that with Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and the other loons of the right wing echo chamber, and what you have is a lot of people calling Obama a socialist, white hating, non-American who are completely fired up and ready to vote pitted against timid centrist Democrats looking for where the center is.
Take a look at Ben Nelson, Blanch Lincoln, Evan Bayh and Mary Landrieu if you want to know the center in that equation.
Worrying about the feelings of those who think that array of folks are, at best, too liberal is a fool’s errand, IMHO.
If you are looking for righties, I and direct you a site right here in Seattle — Sound Politics. Go on over there to reason with them, then tell us of the welcoming you receive.