IT’S A BLOGOSPHERE PILE-ON! Even Eric Alterman is denouncing A.N.S.W.E.R. and the protests:

But radical rhetoric denouncing America and everything it stands for — which is what I heard from the A.N.S.W.E.R.-chosen speakers in D.C. over the weekend — does more harm than good. They harden the other side’s resolve and turn away “normal” non-political people from a cause they might otherwise support. . . .

In other words, by allowing A.N.S.W.E.R. to take over the peace movement, protesters are focusing America on their worst features, and almost daring them to side with Bush and company. It’s a tough quandary because the left needs bodies and these Stalinist types are the best demonstration organizers — just as they were in the sixties. And the Left has never solved it.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. And I think that when you’re getting slagged by Alterman and me, you’re not launching a viable mass movement.

UPDATE: Michelle Dulak has this comment on Megan McArdle’s post:

I think the most pathetic aspect of this is that the supposedly vast grassroots anti-war movement hadn’t the means even to organize its own protest. How hard would it have been for a large, legitimate left-of-center organization to put something of its own together? That reasonable opponents of war consented to sign on with the ANSWER lot because they they were such good organizers is shameful. (Slightly stronger statement deleted as I thought I’d better not pollute this blog.)

I think there hasn’t been enough attention given to how the notice of the protest spread from ANSWER to the non-Stalinist groups who must presumably have done most of the serious work of getting the word out and persuading ordinary citizens to show up. ANSWER must have sent press releases to other antiwar groups, leftist organizations, leftist media, &c. I don’t think an ordinary citizen who has never heard of ANSWER is at fault for attending an ANSWER-sponsored rally, but the more mainstream organizations that must have first gotten the word out to their members damn well had a duty to know who ANSWER is (or, if they didn’t, to find out, which would take about a minute online) and I think they bear a good deal of the responsibility here.

I’m guessing that Karl Rove is ordering up footage for the ’04 Presidential race.

UPDATE: Alterman emails to clarify that he was referring to the speakers at the protests: “Speakers, please, not protests. We don’t know what the protesters thought and it’s my belief/hope that the speakers did not represent them.” Fair enough.