Base of Extremists

There are Democratic and Republican partisans who will always vote the party line but will admit it when their party or party’s candidates screw up. But there are also people who partisans also loathe – party extremists, who often comprise the “base” or core of the party’s faithful. Extremists on both sides often represent the very top of a party leadership or the very grassroots – but both believe they represent the views of the entire party, and woe to the Republican or Democrat who dares to have a different opinion.

Because these extremists are very loud and crass, the mass media gives them way more attention than they deserve. Because they claim to represent the party, people who don’t follow politics get a warped view of how the whole process works. And because the extremists can’t open their mouths without sticking their entire feet inside, ordinary people with normal views get disgusted and turned off by politics. And the media keeps giving us more and more, whether we want it or not.

There’s been a few extremists making fools of themselves and discrediting both the parties they claim to represent today. I am going to give the first, Ann Coulter, as little time as possible because she really is the most virulent sort of extremist around. It also shows the media keep falling for what I scientifically call, “The Hot Famous White Chick Syndrome.” This means that if anybody else did what a hot famous white chick does (think Britney, Anna Nicole, Ann C., plus others) we would have banished that person from our subconscious and the airwaves long ago. Her anti-Semitic diatribe can be read here. My favorite line isn’t even the “Jews need to be perfected” but “You have to obey.” So far the extremists – many who fall under the guise of fundamentalists – have alienated African Americans, homosexuals, Hispanics and now Jews from the GOP.

It wasn’t just right-wing radicals today. Barney Frank, the only openly gay member of Congress and head of the House Finance Committee, is also receiving scorn from left-wing extremists because he has removed “gender identity” language from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The bill would protect homosexuals from discrimination in the workplace, but extremists and some gay rights advocates say the bill is unacceptable because it does not cover transsexuals and transgender individuals. They now regard Frank as a Benedict Arnold.

What extremists do not understand is that compromise is the way things get done, not just in Washington but in life. I’ve met some of these extremists on both sides and they tend to have pretty poor people skills and just don’t understand that sometimes 80%, or even 51% of what you want is the best you’re going to get. Extremists have no ability to grasp this – anything else is a sell-out.

Most politicians are smart and reasonable people who understand this. But they need to continually balance keeping their so-called “base” happy with actually getting things done for all Americans. The real danger is when some of these “base” people become politicians and then become leaders of the party. George McGovern was one of them, but was so extreme even Nixon trounced him. But some of them – like Tom DeLay or Dick Cheney – have attained power, and it is only then that we see how far away from the mainstream they really are.