A big victory for the netroots

Chris Bowers of Mydd claims that Democrats and the netroots won a big victory today when John Edwards refused to cave into the pressure of what he calls a right wing smear job. So why was it a victory?

Bowers:

The vast majority of established, beltway consultants would have told Edwards to fire Melissa and Amanda. By not doing so, it shows that he is capable of moving beyond tired, worn out advice. He is open to new ideas, including those coming from the netroots. We need more leaders like that.

It sets a precedent for all other Democratic campaigns this cycle when it comes to right-wing smear jobs and swiftboating. Unlike in the past, it shows that Democrats don't have to cave, and are not ready to cave. Any other campaign in a similar situation will now be judged by yardstick Edwards has laid down. At this point, caving will make you look very bad.

Relative to the Republican Noise Machine dominated established news media, it increases the power of the netroots as a voice in the Democratic party. They listened to us, not to the establishment, and not to the right-wing. This will help build the movement, and free the Democratic Party from conservative Republican influence in our primaries. We are one step closer to choosing our leaders on our own.

Also, Bowers calls for bloggers to take action against the news organizations and reporters who acted as stenographers for the right-wing smear machine on this story.