Thumbs up for Kwanchai Praipana. Thumbs down for Sanan Kachornprasart. The one thing that makes Mr Kwanchai stand out from the rest of the red shirt brigade is that he puts the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in an awkward position from time to time. The latest incident was last Monday.
The key northeastern red-shirt leader stunned other UDD and Pheu Thai Party members on that day when he said the UDD northeasterners will take their icon Thaksin Shinawatra home during the forthcoming Songkran period via the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge after the globe-trotting ex-prime minister celebrates the traditional New Year in Laos. He will be greeted by 50,000 northeastern red loyalists right there at the bridge, once his feet touch Thai soil in Nong Khai.
The years since Thaksin had administrative power ripped from his hands by the surprise coup in 2006 are, apparently, too long for them. Yingluck Shinawatra might be Thaksin's sister and she might be prime minister. But she's not Thaksin and will never be.
What perhaps drives Mr Kwanchai and his friends in the Northeast is that they are upset about being neglected by the red shirt "elite" in the capital and the Pheu Thai Party, despite the fact they helped bring down the Democrat-led government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and carried Ms Yingluck into Government House.
"Pheu Thai MPs should pay more attention to the plight of the red shirts. Some of them wore red only to get themselves into parliament and have not come back to help those of us who voted for them," he said. To them, Ms Yingluck is not the answer. Thaksin is.
Thaksin will return. It's hardly debatable any more. But that will take place only after the amnesty process and all of his legal hurdles are cleared. Trying to put this issue into the spotlight now is poor timing for Pheu Thai and Thaksin's loyalists. In fact it could upset the delicate political atmosphere which the ruling party and the UDD are trying to keep under control, re-arouse the anger of his opponents who want him in absentia for as long as possible, and derail whatever covert efforts are being made to get Thaksin home.
It's for those reasons many Pheu Thai and red shirt members have turned on Mr Kwanchai, urging him to shut up. Even Thaksin has commanded his supporters not to put his sister in an awkward position.
His order is clearly directed at people like Mr Kwanchai and underlines his concern that more like him will emerge from the rural back-roads and hinder the homecoming campaign.
Thaksin's opponents, however, are relishing the thought of there being more than one Kwanchai out there. They, however, need only one Sanan.
Maj Gen Sanan last week cornered Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, now chairman of the House committee on national reconciliation. The chief adviser to the Charthaipattana Party demanded an answer from the ex-coup leader on who was responsible for 2006 _ who were the masterminds? The veteran politician from Phichit said reconciliation will go nowhere if Gen Sonthi does not shed light on the issue.
Gen Sonthi is not a seasoned politician like Maj Gen Sanan. But he's not easily bullied. Maj Gen Sanan knew even before he asked the question that he would not get a reply from the Matubhum Party leader now or even after he goes to his grave.
But he also didn't expect Gen Sonthi to say something similar to what the late Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat said: "I take sole responsibility." Being solely responsible for the coup could dig a very deep hole for Gen Sonthi.
Maj Gen Sanan should not have asked the question. Everybody would then know who was behind the coup given the political context at the time Gen Sonthi led soldiers and tanks into the streets.
The coup six years ago was embarrassing enough. It solved no problems and yet now the coup leader heads the effort for reconciliation.
In fact, the question that Maj Gen Sanan should have posed to Gen Sonthi is, "Why the coup?" _ not "Who?". At least there would be something to learn from it.
Saritdet Marukatat is Editorial Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.