Dean eventually imploded, but the fact remains that there is still a sizable contingent of infantile Dem loonies residing within the Dem tent.
The management of the loonies has become the dominant problem facing both parties. The Democrats have to deal with the eco-wackos, the Luddites, and the rest of the infantile left loonies. The Republicans have to deal with the religious freak fringe and the rest of the right wing extremist crowd. Both have the same problem. If they give the fringe too much of the platform, they drive the moderate swing votes away. If they give the fringe too little, the fringe votes get siphoned off by extremist parties.
Bush won in 2000 – to the extent to which he did – not because the American people preferred him or his platform, but because the Republicans did a better job of managing their fringe. If Nader hadn’t run, Gore would almost certainly have won.
Where does all this go? Long-term, I think the greatest danger to the US – far greater than that posed by Islamic extremists – is that posed by the large and growing influence, in both parties, of ideological extremists. I’m less concerned with getting a Democrat or a Republican in than with the need to ease both parties back into a moderate centrist range, where meaningful dialogue has a chance of producing compromise policies.
Because of that, I’m starting to hope Bush wins, though I’d prefer to see him faced by a small Democratic majority in the legislature, which would limit the damage he can do. That’s partly because I’m not terribly impressed with Kerry. It’s also partly because whoever wins will face an unmanageable situation in the Middle East, and I’d rather see Bush handling his own mess. At this point the policy options are very limited, and it will probably be a train wreck no matter what we do. If Kerry is in charge of the wreck, that would open the door for a really radical right wing type to dominate the Republican scene – and very likely win – in 2008. If Kerry gets trounced and Bush has to supervise the wreck, it seems likely to me that the Republicans will want to field a more moderate candidate in 2008, and that the Democrats will see the error of their ways and move back toward the center as well. That would get a big sigh of relief from me.
It will be interesting, assuming that Bush wins, to see who the Republicans field in 2008. I just can’t see Cheney making it – way too much HAL in his past. I’d vote for Powell in a heartbeat.
Either way, I’m reduced once more to hoping the nation can survive its leaders. Makes me wonder why we can’t do better. |
