I'm also very skeptical about allying with such people. Keeping tabs on who expresses dissent from Obama seems like an interesting parlor game, but nothing beyond that really. As you say, Hamsher is a loyal Democrat who will stick with her party in the end, just as some neocons express discomfort with Bush's big-government ways but will always ultimately support the Republican Party. More relevantly for me, her economic politics will be only limited to (mild) redistribution and the nation will be her political base unit. For me, that's not an opportunity; it's a trap.