Dissent is patriotic. Dissent is good for our country. Having participated in numerous protests myself, I know that it does wonders for the soul, and brings together people that might otherwise think they are lonely voices in the wild.

Since most politics in America splits down along party lines, one would think that the left would protest against the Republicans and the right would protest against the Democrats. That doesn't always seem to be the case anymore. Over the last year or two, it seems that in both cases the protesting is actually helping the other side.

The Tea Party "magically" came into being as soon as President Obama was sworn in (we'll not delve into the sordid history there). Initially, they put the full court press against the Democrats, especially with regards to the health care legislation. They also disrupted the town hall meetings of Republicans (some moderate, like Arlen Spector). The far-right Republicans gave them a forum; the moderates tried to reason with them.

By the time the last election rolled around, they were fielding candidates in Republican primaries, going against established or newer "party line" Republicans. In most of those races (e.g.: Delaware, Alaska, Nevada), they won the primary but lost the election, thus costing the Republicans control of the Senate. They actually helped the Democrats.

There is a noisy group on the left that is creating similar havoc for the Democrats. Most protests I hear from them focus on the Democrats, not the Republicans, and most of those focus on President Obama, rather than the Senate, which is where most of our legislative roadblocks and compromises occur. Rather than embolden the Democrats to push harder, they feed into the Republican narrative that the country is unhappy with the Democratic agenda. This festering disillusionment was likely the cause of lackluster voter turnout, which helped the Republicans make significant gains in the House and Senate.

So what's the answer? I'll reiterate my initial point that dissent is good for the country and good for the soul. But it must be directed properly. It should be directed at the root cause of the problems (in my mind - the Republicans; your view may differ), and should focus on the policies, rather than demonize the individual. For "Progressives", that means they should focus their ire on the Republican machine. They should protest against the Republicans and for liberal values.

If they continue to demonize President Obama, we may well end up with a Republican president in 2012. Take a lesson from the Tea Party and the 2010 elections - don't aid and abet the "enemy". Absolutely urge the politicians that most closely align with your values to do the right thing - just don't cut them down at the knees in the process.