Thursday, February 10, 2005

The Struggle Within: Some folks on the Left are finally starting to notice that the extremists in their camp are seriously hurting the liberal cause instead of helping. I guess helping a political party lose two national elections in two years will begin to rub certain people the wrong way.

Republicans often make a serious mistake of lumping all political opponents together and dismissing them as un-American. Just because someone disagrees with the U.S. policy in Iraq does not mean that person is anti-American. But you can't overlook that there really is a loud contingent of liberals who do want America to lose in Iraq, Afghanistan, and everywhere else. For all their talk about freedom and liberty at home, they automatically side with tyrants and fascists abroad. And Democrats need to separate the serious from the silly.

Both the Left and the Right have their embarrassing fringe. But the Republians have adequately put a muzzle on Jerry Falwell and his ilk while Democrats invite Michael Moore to sit with Jimmy Carter at their National Convention.

And it's that blurring of the lines that has helped the Republicans gain control of the entire government. I had never voted for a Democrat or Republican for president in my life. But I found myself voting for Bush this go around in part to take a stand against the "anti-war" types.

I would prefer a divided government. But when Ted Kennedy and other prominent Democrats rant against America like we're the bad guys, that party loses credibility with me.