"Brian Baird featured in Freedom Crock ad" (with video)

Kagro X (front paged on Kos), with video:

Nice going, Bri!

Ellen Tauscher clearly revealed the dynamics of the game to everyone (who was listening):

Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), who recently returned from Iraq as well, said his experience led him to believe the escalation should be sustained until next year. Asked to address Baird’s comments, Tauscher suggested he had become a victim of the "green zone fog":

I will tell you that when you get in the Green Zone, there is a physiological phenomenon I think called Green Zone fog. ... It’s death by powerpoint. ... It’s always that their argument is winning.

She added later, "It’s very, very easy to be influenced, from their point of view, that things are better." She said they will "shape" facts to show gains being made. Meanwhile, the reality in Iraq is that there is a lot of sectarianism in the government, particularly at the Ministry of Interior. "The MOI is basically this sleeper cell organization of Shiite death squads," she said.

And then laid out the consequences of intellectual and political sloppiness:

"I don't know of anybody who isn't desperately supportive of the military," she said. "People want to say positive things. But it's difficult to say positive things in this environment and not have some snarky apologist for the White House turn it into some clipped phraseology that looks like support for the president's policies."

Bingo.

And Brian Baird fell for it like a ton of bricks.

As Matt Stoller points out at Open Left, he's going for The Full Lieberman, too:

Meantime, Baird has so many requests for interviews that he already has offered a two-hour media availability Monday, after Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, testify before the House.

Do I mean that Baird has gone irretrievably over to the dark side when I say that? No. I mean that Baird has discovered what, for Lieberman, proved to be the "gateway drug" -- media stardom for being the Democrat who will go on record to provide the coveted Dems Divided^TM storyline.

Best reaction to this so far?

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., told Congressional Quarterly: "I'll give Brian a gun and let him go to Iraq and shoot whoever he wants."

Unfortunately, it seems Baird's been aiming squarely at Democratic feet. And loving it.

Howie P.S.: This is like what the opposition is doing to Darcy Burner with Deb Eddy's recent remarks.