Quote:
Originally Posted by flylock shox
I'd go so far to say the extremity of the right wing since the start of the Bush years has shifted the political center in the US a couple of notches over from the left. So if those on the far left now appear extreme, it's only because the center has moved.
Before this shift, people like Beck, Coulter, and (given her position) Palin would have been widely recognized for the morons they are. Now, they're actually given some level of credence they just don't merit, and a level of power and influence that is frankly dangerous.
And all the gun-toting would-be assassins are, unfortunately, on their side.
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This is a very interesting comment that compelled me to add to it. This has been a long term strategy of the political right in the United States. They have long taken eliminationist positions when it comes to dealing with political opposition. The goal has not been to discuss issues rationally, but instead marginalize and then eliminate the balancing positions and voices on the other side of the debate. McCarthy did it with the Red Scare in the 50's and the elimination of the communist or extreme left end of the spectrum. Reagan did it, with the help of Gorbachev, with perestroika and challenging the socialists in eastern Europe, eliminating the socialists from the extreme left end of the spectrum. The current group of conservatives are now challenging the liberals and making it unAmerican to be a progressive. If they succeed at eliminating the liberal perspective there will be no left to balance those "crazies" on the right. With each elimination of a balancing perspective the political fulcrum has shifted further and further to the right. I don't see that as being healthy in a democracy.
The Becks and Palins and Hannities and Coulters and O'Reillys of the world prove there is a sucker born every minute. While they like to talk a big game of being on the side of the little guy they are in it just for money and profit. They want you to believe that extending Bush style tax cuts are good for you, the little guy, but the people they help the most are the mulit-millionaires like the Becks and Palins and Hannitys and Coulters and O'Reillys. They play on the fears of the uneducated general public and make millions off of their ignorance.
One last point, that also follows flylock shox's post, just how many leftist militias are there out there? How many leftist attacks have taken place against the government or the people in general? How many leftist plots to wreak havoc on the population have been discovered and broken up? The answers are sobering.