By Dr. Larry Moses
No one asked me but…Politics of the extreme have taken over America. All across the country Americans are being given the choice of either the policies of the extreme left or the policies of the extreme right.
A country that traditionally is governed from the middle is now, for the first time, experiencing rule from the extreme left. The election of 2008 turned the government over to the left-wing liberals of the Democrat Party. When a fringe group is on the edge, they act as a restraint on the middle keeping it from moving too far to the other side. When the fringe becomes the ruling class, you have anger and confusion from the middle.
One of my favorite T.V. programs of all times is M.A.S.H, set in a field hospital during the Korean War. (Yes, I used the term war, not conflict. An old Gunny Sergeant explained to me that if someone shot at him and he shot back, it was a war. A conflict was whether to wear Dress Blues or Class A uniform to the Marine Corp Ball.) In one episode of M.A.S.H., “Hawkeye” was put in charge of the camp when Col. Potter was called away.
If you recall “Hawkeye” was the iconoclastic doctor who battled the Army with the same passion he battled the life threatening wounds he dealt with each day. While the military hating doctor was great at treating his patients, he was always undermining the military order.
When “Hawkeye” was left in charge, the camp fell into chaos. Summing up the problem, Major “Hot Lips” Hoolihan, the nurse who was raised in the military and was a stickler for military rules and décor, explained the sad state of affairs to Col. Potter by saying, “That’s what you get when you let the clowns run the circus.”
If you look at America today, this is what you get when you let extremists run America. The Republican answer to this state of affairs is to run extreme right wing candidates in hopes of unseating the extreme left wing Democrats now in control.
The problem is that in running extreme right wing candidates, they have split the Republican Party. One of the first rules of commanding in battle is never split your force in front of a numerically superior foe. This is a rule that the Republicans are now, much to the delight of the Democrats, on the verge of ignoring. The middle of the road Republicans are refusing to back the more conservative candidates that are winning nomination throughout the United States. They are helping the Democrats by labeling the candidates selected in their primaries as too extreme. On the other hand, the conservative candidates are labeling the more center of the line Republicans as R.I.N.O.s. (Republicans In Name Only) Neither group is willing to support the other.
There is no such thing as a D.I.N.O. (Democrat In Name Only) The Democrats understand that in this time of close elections, the party must stick together. No matter, which Democrat wins the primary, the party, will support them.
Charlie Rangel, New York, Democratic Congressman, is under indictment for ethics violations, even to the point there may be criminal charges brought. However, when he won the closely contested primary, the Democrat Party did not split. It rallied behind Rangel in hopes of beating his Republican opponent come November. This is a lesson the Nevada Republicans could well learn if they hope to topple Senator Harry Reid.
The Nevada Republicans committed a major political error when they allowed Reid to define their candidate. The Reid campaign has successfully painted Sharron Angle as an extremist. The Republicans in Nevada have not countered, indeed have reinforced this image, and have watched an eleven-point advantage disappear. I have had the opportunity to see Angle speak. Let me assure you: a foaming-at-the-mouth extremist of the Father Coughlin school she ain’t.
Angle’s views are much closer to a mid-stream Republican than the actions of Harry Reid have been to a mid-stream Democrat. As the Senate Majority Leader in an administration controlled by the left wing liberals of Barrack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, Senator Reid has given up his middle of the road position and is supporting the extreme left wing party line.
The problem for those of us who dislike the extremes of both parties is that we are left with the choice of which extreme are we less worried about. While we suspect the rule of the extreme right might be a problem, we know the rule of extreme left is a problem, as evidenced by the last four years.
A point that Republicans have failed to exploit is that Democrat rule started not with the 2008 Presidential election, but with the mid-term elections of 2006 when the Democrat Party took over both Houses of Congress. If the Bush Administration’s car went in the ditch, as President Obama likes to remind us, it was due to fact that the Democrats have been at the wheel of the car since 2006. For nearly two years, the Democrats did not attempt to get us out of the ditch. When they finally did, they over corrected and rolled the car.
If the Republicans hope to take back the House and Senate in November, they had better get over their petty in-fighting and join forces. Up to this point, all they have proven is they can beat each other up.
No one asked me but…One of the Reid attack ads shows a rather bedraggled looking Angle saying, “It is not my role to create jobs…” It goes on to explain how Nevada is hurting for jobs and Sharron Angle will do nothing to help. The ad does not complete the quote, which continues, “…it is the role of government to create an atmosphere where private industry can expand, creating jobs.”
In a CNN interview on September 6, 2010, Senator Harry Reid said, “My job is to create jobs. My opponent says that is not her job to create jobs. And I really think that is really wrong. I think it is my job to create jobs, and I’ve done my best.”
Now let us assume Harry is right. It is his job to create jobs. Nevada’s fourteen percent unemployment would suggest he failed. If that is the best he has to offer, it is time to find someone to take his place.
In support of Sharron Angle’s stand on job creation, President Obama stated in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 8, 2010: “I’ve never believed that government has all the answers to our problems. I’ve never believed that government’s role is to create jobs or prosperity. I believe it’s the drive and ingenuity of our entrepreneurs or small businesses, the skill and dedication of our workers, that has made us the wealthiest nation on Earth.”
Thought of the week…I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!
-Barry Goldwater.
