Admittedly, it has been a rough couple of weeks for the progressive blogosphere. What started as great news from the John Edwards presidential campaign - the hiring of two insightful, respected bloggers in high-level positions - quickly deteriorated in the face of the right wing's last effective ways of doing business, mock, hypocritical outrage and disgusting threats. Despite Edwards's initial defense of bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, the climate of hate fostered, in part, by the bigoted Bill Donohue and, to a lesser extent, the bigoted Michelle Malkin led to the pair's resignation. In the midst of the controversy, I suggested the benefits of pursuing clenched-fist progressive politics. Upon further review, and armed with the fact that the right won't stop attacking no matter how far backward the Democrats retreat, it has become clear that a no-holds-barred approach is the only way to go. What's also clear is this: We're in this fight together.

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About 10 minutes ago, Melissa McEwan announced on Shakespeare's Sister that her letter of resignation was reluctantly accepted by the Edwards campaign.  She stated:

This was a decision I made, with the campaign's reluctant support, because my remaining the focus of sustained ideological attacks was inevitably making me a liability to the campaign, and making me increasingly uncomfortable with my and my family's level of exposure.

I understand that there will be progressive bloggers who feel I am making the wrong decision, and I offer my sincerest apologies to them. One of the hardest parts of this decision was feeling as though I'm letting down my peers, who have been so supportive.

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Score one for the good guys: To put an end to the bloggergate non-scandal, John Edwards announced that he is keeping Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan on board. His brief statement, which can be found here, discusses his views on the bloggers' past writings and closes, most importantly, with the candidate saying, "We're beginning a great debate about the future of our country, and we can't let it be hijacked. It will take discipline, focus, and courage to build the America we believe in." No truer words, and words I'll discuss in further detail later. Marcotte and McEwan, it should be noted, also released statements, which can be found here and here. While Team Edwards is moving on at full power, this entire episode, which is really just beginning, offers the progressive movement an object lesson in how we must operate as a unit in anticipation of 2008 - and beyond. "They wanted a fight," I wrote Wednesday. "Let's give it to them." And with this fight, the next era of clenched-fist politics has begun.

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Like good drivers treat their cars in the midst of a frigid winter, the right wing must make regular efforts to rev up its outrage machine. From Coretta Scott King's funeral to Barbara Boxer's commentary on Condoleeza Rice, the latter-day conservative narrative represents a steady stream of overhyped, overwrought blow-ups intended to demonize the progressive movement while simultaneously - and always unsuccessfully - trying to avoid completely shattering the hypocrisy meter. The latest winners? Bloggers and true netroots role models Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, both recent high-level hires of the John Edwards presidential campaign. Their crime? Blogging while being a progressive, a first-degree felony in the right-wing legal world.

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Chris Bowers and other A-list political bloggers are wondering why there's been no response from the Edwards campaign on the whole caving-to-Bill-Donohue thing.

Well, I think I can tell you why right now:  I just got done listening to both drive-time radio and the ABC, CBS and NBC network TV news programs, and guess what wasn't mentioned once?  Not once?

That's right, this whole brouhaha.  (More after the jump.)

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