Is it essential for an extreme liberal to be a paranoid conspiracy theorist?

Whether it's American involvement in taking down the World Trade Center, or war for oil, these folks can't swing a dead cat without hitting some nefarious cabal involving Republicans.

The newest one, floated by Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake fame, is that if Joe Lieberman is John McCain's running mate, and they win only to have the aged McCain die in office, President Lieberman would round up all the bloggers that supported Ned Lamont's senatorial campaign in 2006 and send them to Gitmo.

I kid you not:

On Wednesday, NewsBusters reported the continued angst the Netroots are feeling about presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama's recent flip-flops while pointing out how few media outlets seem interested.

Surprisingly, the New York Times Wednesday not only addressed Markos Moulitsas's decision to withhold a campaign contribution to the junior senator from Illinois, but also reported the growing concern of many Obama supporters.

The piece, entitled "Obama Voters Protest His Switch on Telecom Immunity," was written by none other than James Risen, who readers should remember as the co-author of the controversial December 2005 article "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts" (emphasis added throughout):

NewsBusters reported Sunday that infamous netrooter Jane Hamsher lambasted Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democrat presidential candidate John Edwards, for having the nerve to come down on MoveOn's disgraceful "General Betray Us" ad.

On Monday, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly took issue with Hamsher's "threat," as did his guests Kirsten Powers and Tammy Bruce.

After reading portions of Hamsher's letter to Edwards, which was posted at Firedoglake Saturday, O'Reilly said (video available at Gateway Pundit, h/t Glenn Reynolds):

MoveOn's "General Betray Us" advertisement in Monday's New York Times could end up being the gift that keeps on giving.

Though most of the Democrat presidential candidates have distanced themselves from this disgrace, John Edwards' wife Elizabeth made some remarks in Iowa Friday that have drawn the ire of leading netroots member Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake (h/t Protein Wisdom).

For those that have forgotten, Hamsher rose in infamy to national prominence last August when she posted a picture of Sen. Joe Lieberman in blackface.

This time, Hamsher was irked by the following remarks made by Edwards as reported by the Des Moines Register (emphasis added):