I tend to see Carrol's point (if I understand it right): you can have quite a few best friends. Santorum & Co of course are the best of the best, since they are identical to the conservatives, but the next set of best friends can be those that keep Santorum & Co in power. In a situation where the pretence of democracy has to be maintained to keep the public in stupor, they (the Dems) perform a function that is quite important. IOW, the Democrat is a slimy but necessary tool that should not be confused with real enemies (like a real progressive).
Also, when you have a dud like Santorum on your hands, your best bet as a conservative is to get the right Democrat elected. Casey might well be that. IIRC he is quite the "moderate" Democrat, which includes in his case being anti-choice. The last thing you want to do as a conservative is set off even a minor insurrection like what is going on in CT.
I used to argue for (or at least ask for valid criticism of) the ABB line. But the performance of Democrats w.r.t NSA spying, etc, etc, has lent credibility to the argument that the Democrats are truly not an alternative.
--ravi
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