E.J. Dionne: The Strange Death of Moderate Republicanism

[marmar]

from Truthdig:



The Strange Death of Moderate Republicanism
Posted on Sep 15, 2010

By E.J. Dionne, Jr.


WILMINGTON, Del.—On the eve of the primary that would end his electoral career, Rep. Mike Castle was in a reflective mood. He seemed calm and confident, yet almost everything he said sounded valedictory as he offered a prescient analysis that explained in advance a defeat that echoed throughout the nation.

A genial and courtly man in the manner of the elder President Bush (who held a fundraiser for him in Kennebunkport), the nine-term congressman was mourning the decline of both the conciliatory style of politics that animated his career and the moderate Republican disposition that the tea party is determined to destroy.

“There are issues on which, as Republicans and Democrats, we should sit down and work out our differences,” Castle said Monday night as we sat outside at Kelly’s Logan House, a watering hole where he has gathered his closest supporters the night before every election since his first victory, for the neighborhood’s state legislative seat, in 1966.

Republicans who might be inclined toward the middle of the road, he said, are petrified of “quick attacks by columnists and the Sean Hannitys of the world. People are very afraid of crossing the line and being called Republicans In Name Only—or worse.” As a result, “not too many members are willing to stand up.”

“Part of it,” he added, “is worry about primaries, and this election has shown the power of very conservative groups.” .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_strange_death_of_moderate_republicanism_20100915/

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Echos of Lincoln Chaffe of RI. All the decent Republicans have been voted out of office and

replaced by repukes, or if we are really lucky, by Democrats..

[applegrove]

2. Both Republican critters who supported the small business bill are not running for re-election.

[struggle4progress]

3. I'd like to feel sorry for the modRs but the GOP's been slouching towards extremism

since 1968, when Nixon decided to court the Southern racists who were angry about Civil Rights

The power of folk like Limbaugh is not an sudden inexplicable accidental development: the conservatives have been pumping up jackasses like that for decades, and Cheney as VP used to do spots on the show

The current political situation in the US seems quite dangerous and unsettled to me

[Skittles]

4. "moderate" repukes can fuck themselves

we all know what happens when you "lie down with dogs"

[ccinamon]

6. you're right...they wanted an angry mob to vote for them,

they got an angry mob, and like all angry mobs, they eventually turn if they don't get what they want/promised.

[ccinamon]

5. I don't recall his name being on any "cross-over" votes so

for him to decry the loss of working together, doesn't garner any sympathy from me.

I will admit, that I don't have time or the memory to keep tabs on every vote of every congress critter, so he may have done some cross-over voting, but I doubt it was on anything that really mattered (i.e. Health Care Ins Reform)...he probably stuck with the republican block the last 2 years.

[dotymed]

7. Democrats have become

the "moderate rethugs."
Counter-intuitively, with our economy decimated by greed (our entire culture really), our entire political process has surged to the right.
IMO, this is all due to the influence (SCOTUS supported) of profit- wild corporations.
Amazingly, Americans do not realize (except the wealthy) that this right-wing lurch (Fascism) will never benefit anyone except the wealthy.
America now has less civil rights than any time in my 50 year memory.
Inalienable rights? None...
Since Americans have become pussies, at least we can hope that the brave citizens of many European, Asian and Latin American countries who actually take to the streets, will have some type of osmotic effect on our government or citizenry.
That is a piss poor expectation of change...seemingly it is our only expectation because WE have lost our backbone and totally capitulated to Fascism.

this message brought to you by Choicepoint....no citizen can escape our scrutiny and usually false reports..... ;) we tell it like our masters want to hear it.

[phantom power]

8. +1

[Alcibiades]

13. You're right

The right has taken over the GOP. First, conservatives pushed out the Rockefeller Republicans, and now extreme conservatives are pushing out the conservatives. In 1994, Lindsey Graham was one of the most conservative Republicans in the class of 1994: today, he's one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate. He hasn't really changed, but the GOP sure has.

As the GOP moved to the right, the Democrats moved further to the middle to reclaim the center. The center of US politics appears to be determined by how far right the GOP is willing to go.

[Uncle Joe]

9. It was inevitable when they let their Party focus on the wrong word;

in following Barry Goldwater's advice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_goldwater

Goldwater famously declared in his bold acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican Convention: "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." This paraphrase of Cicero was included at the suggestion of Harry V. Jaffa, though the speech was primarily written by Karl Hess. Due to President Johnson's popularity, however, Goldwater held back from attacking the president directly; he did not even mention Johnson by name in his convention speech.

They took that to mean extremism in defending corporate power and the military industrial complex over the "We the People's" government while abandoning any concept of the public good.

This was a direct refutation aimed directly at former President Esienhower's farewell speech warning

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Military-Industrial_Complex_Speech

Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defenses; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs, balance between the private and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped for advantages, balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable, balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual, balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress. Lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their Government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of threat and stress.

<snip>

Now this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual --is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved. So is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Goldwater didn't give a damn about balance, the Republican Party has continually drifted to the extremism mode ever since and unfortunately to a large degree, the Democratic Party has followed suit instead of resisting the pull, in the political game of Tug of War.

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[necso]

10. k

[underpants]

11. Dionne foretold all this in 2006 calling the GOP "The party of the south"

right after the disasterous midterms that no one saw coming (we don't talk about that any more) which was the actual and real uprising of the people.

[underpants]

12. “There was a move of moderate Republicans becoming independents, and independents becoming Democrats

great quote.

[Demeter]

14. There's Nothing Strange about It

The premise of Republicanism--that there's only one way to be a "REAL" American--has been the crack through which all the evils of the day pour in.

America wasn't built by the Borg. But there are factions in the nation today who believe that Borg-pattern assimilation is the only way to organize a continent settled by people from all the nations in the world.

And it doesn't work, because people are not widgets, manufactured alike to within a minuscule tolerance. People are infinitely diverse, and for good reason. It's in our genes, our varied histories, and no amount of No Child Left Behind, one-size-fits-all conformity will accommodate our needs.

Our diversity is our strength. It has always been our strength. Our ability to make commmon cause for common goals was what made America exceptional. Until now.

Now, faced with the Borg, can our diverse population unite in opposition to the craziness of the GOP?