Thank God for TNR
Howie Kurtz has a good story on The New Republic and its new editor here. As you may have noticed, I quote frequently from TNR pieces and from other columns written by Peter Beinart. My appreciation for the magazine began when I was still a conservative Republican seeking to understand what the other side thought. It has continued throughout my own progression from conservative firebrand to moderate pragmatist. While TNR tends to be labelled as a liberal magazine, I would argue that it is more centrist in its ideology. But such a judgment is based solely on where one stands.
The entire article is a good read, but here, I think, is the quote that distills TNR's philosophy-
"We're not for an era of tranquillity and harmony in the Democratic Party," Beinart says. "We're for a big ideological fight."

Peretz calls it "our struggle for the soul of the party. It's a direct extension of what we did with the contras, with Bosnia, with Jesse Jackson and race. . . . I say this is our mission, to keep the party honest."
(via Real Clear Politics)