If there were a phrase to describe the current state of affairs in Washington today, it would be along the lines of atrociously inept due to fierce partisanship. In fact, the aforementioned phrase could easily be applied to the last six years, starting after the Bush administration’s dubious claims that brought our country to war, which effectively split our country down ideological lines. There has been a gross radicalization of the American public over the past six years, branding people as either liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, or pro-war or anti-war.
We have seen a seismic shift in the direction of the two mainstream political parties: the Democratic party moving farther and farther left and the Republican party moving farther and farther right. But it is important to note that this did not just happen over the last six years, it has been a gradual development for decades.
The rise of George McGovern in 1972 firmly established his “San Francisco Democrats” as part of the mainstream Democratic party. Even though Bill Clinton was anything but a far leftist, he in fact never got along with Ted Kennedy, as they represented different wings of the Democratic party (it is no coincidence that Kennedy endorsed Obama in the thick of the primaries last year), its leadership today is comprised of exactly these far leftists, including Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Henry Waxman. These politicians advocate a large government takeover of the U.S. economy, imposing heavy taxes and regulations, treat the CIA as criminals–seemingly more dangerous than actual terrorists, and have been continual defeatists in our fight against international Islamic terrorism, while tens of thousands of young, brave Americans are in harm’s way. This ideology is a far cry from Democrats of the past such as Harry Truman, Scoop Jackson, John F. Kennedy and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
On the other side, the emergence of the Christian right and the neo-conservative movement in the 1980’s has radicalized the GOP to its current character today. In order to be the Republican candidate for president nowadays, you have to be anti-gay marriage, anti-abortion and anti-immigration, just to name a few of the “hot button” issues. It’s no wonder that John McCain, a true moderate Republican, changed many of his views in order to be fully accepted by the base of his own party. The likes of Rush Limbaugh and talk radio have pushed many of these moderate Republicans out, Arlen Specter and Chuck Hagel being two examples. Long gone are the days of Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Nelson Rockefeller.
It should come as no surprise that extremists have taken control of politics in this country, as they tend to be the ones who care most, who will go out and organize people on a Saturday morning for a cause in which they believe. We have become apathetic as a society and it bodes terribly for our nation as we face new and very real threats in the 21st Century including Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, the ever-obstinate Russia, North Korea, climate change, famine in the developing world, global Islamic terrorism, etc.
As a registered independent and a political moderate, I am at a loss for whom to vote for in the next elections. How could I vote Democratic and support Obama’s massive spending (which will quadruple our deficit in just a few years), a government takeover of the auto and other industries, the Justice Department wanting to investigate CIA agents and apologists to the world’s most ruthless dictators? But, at the same time, how could I vote Republican and support politicians who want to restrict the basic rights of gay and lesbian Americans, want to weaken already lenient gun control laws, and who think that creationism should be taught next to evolution in biology class, not to mention supporting someone like Sarah Palin who believes her foreign policy expertise derives from sightseeing? It’s a sad day being a centrist.
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