"Extremism In The Air"
Charles Schumer, the distinguished senior Senator from New York is pleased that the debate over the filibuster seems to be sliding to the side of the Democrats, saying:
"What’s amazingly gratifying is that, in poll after poll, the public understands that the ‘nuclear option’ is an over-reach… and that the right to filibuster judges should be kept," Schumer said. "The public has this sense that there’s extremism in the air. The debate seems to be going in our direction far more quickly than I ever imagined."
The whiffs of religious extremism have been in the air for sometime and it seems that recently much of it may be coming to a head. The wing of the Republican party that is pushing the issue of extremism is encountering several stumbling blocks. The first is within their own party, among the last vestiges of the Goldwater Conservative movement that exist. The true conservatives know that the wingnuts are counter productive to true conservative goals. The extremists do not want less government intervention, they want the government to start dictating policy. The extremists do not want legal precedents uphelp on the basis of the Consititution, they want activist judges to act in spite of the Constitution, and they want to change our sacred document itself.
The backlash is also coming from the public. Many Americans support the wingnuts in regards to abortion. No one wants to see babies killed, but many do believe that abortions should be available and safe, although rare. However, they also acknowledge that the extremists are overstepping their bounds by pushing for more and more control over their personal freedoms. This was best demonstrated during the Schiavo case when a clearly misled group in Congress (both sides of the aisle) tried to overstep the bounds of the government and get involved in a personal rights case. The public did not support them, and witnessing this act may have helped the public see the real reasoning behind the push to end the filibuster...these extremists have a definite agenda, and it is not to allow an up and down vote in Congress, it is to pack all wings of the government with as many people willing to push a neo-Christian, conservative, moralistic sense of public life into American culture.
Seeing the reaction of the public and some of the backlash against the extremists (on both sides of the aisle) makes me happy and gives me hope that the silent majority is still out there. Perhaps they will decide that it is time for them to send a different message in the next round of elections.
"What’s amazingly gratifying is that, in poll after poll, the public understands that the ‘nuclear option’ is an over-reach… and that the right to filibuster judges should be kept," Schumer said. "The public has this sense that there’s extremism in the air. The debate seems to be going in our direction far more quickly than I ever imagined."
The whiffs of religious extremism have been in the air for sometime and it seems that recently much of it may be coming to a head. The wing of the Republican party that is pushing the issue of extremism is encountering several stumbling blocks. The first is within their own party, among the last vestiges of the Goldwater Conservative movement that exist. The true conservatives know that the wingnuts are counter productive to true conservative goals. The extremists do not want less government intervention, they want the government to start dictating policy. The extremists do not want legal precedents uphelp on the basis of the Consititution, they want activist judges to act in spite of the Constitution, and they want to change our sacred document itself.
The backlash is also coming from the public. Many Americans support the wingnuts in regards to abortion. No one wants to see babies killed, but many do believe that abortions should be available and safe, although rare. However, they also acknowledge that the extremists are overstepping their bounds by pushing for more and more control over their personal freedoms. This was best demonstrated during the Schiavo case when a clearly misled group in Congress (both sides of the aisle) tried to overstep the bounds of the government and get involved in a personal rights case. The public did not support them, and witnessing this act may have helped the public see the real reasoning behind the push to end the filibuster...these extremists have a definite agenda, and it is not to allow an up and down vote in Congress, it is to pack all wings of the government with as many people willing to push a neo-Christian, conservative, moralistic sense of public life into American culture.
Seeing the reaction of the public and some of the backlash against the extremists (on both sides of the aisle) makes me happy and gives me hope that the silent majority is still out there. Perhaps they will decide that it is time for them to send a different message in the next round of elections.
posted by GT at 9:05 AM
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