Frances Coleman
Posted on 05/21/2014 6:12:30 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Extremes are called that for a reason. They are ideas that are on the far edges of reasonableness, and they are – rightly – destined to be tempered and reined in by more moderate ideas. That's what has just happened to the political party that holds sway in my home state.
Elections across the nation Tuesday showed that voters have rejected Tea Party extremism, with all of its concentration on hating President Obama and its suggestion that anyone who disagrees is less than patriotic.
These voters -- Republicans in states like Kentucky, Georgia and Idaho -- are definitely not tree-hugging, pot-smoking liberals. They're conservatives who want their party returned to them.
For them, it's not a matter of ideology; it's a matter of political survival. And as Alabama's own George Wallace noted so many times, political viability is the first and most necessary goal of every elected or would-be elected official.
Just as Wallace did more than 50 years ago, in recent years some Republicans in my state have run campaigns based on rhetoric that they had to know was downright silly. (Consider the current Public Service Commission candidate who's promising to "fight Obama," as though that's the job of a PSC member.)
In a race to the bottom, candidates have vied to hate Obama more, love guns best and pander most effectively to people who could be swayed by negative platitudes. That's a disservice and a distraction to the voters, not to mention an unworkable strategy for government and politics.
Last year's election of Baldwin County's own Bradley Byrne to Congress was a bellwether of how far some extremists are willing to go. When Byrne -- no wild-eyed liberal -- beat a conservative political consultant turned patriot/candidate, signs sprang up all over south Alabama.
Emblazoned with the "Don't Tread on Me" serpent and the words "Boycott Byrne," the signs were the height of the curious, self-destructive urges of some Tea Party Republicans. Byrne isn't a brand of soft drink to be boycotted; he's a U.S. representative from their own party.
Instead of indulging in unrealistic fantasies about what government ought to be, Tea Partiers would be better off not overplaying their hands and instead working in the political system that has gotten them all of this attention in the first place.
It's fitting that some branches of the Tea Party have adopted the serpent as their logo. Like the original rebellious founders of our nation, they mean to convey a message that says, "If you tread on what I see as my rights, you'll regret it." But the effective message in today's political climate is very different.
Everybody who's ever taken a walk in the woods knows snakes can bite. They also know that if you leave snakes alone, they'll usually slither away without harm.
Only a snake-chunking preacher with misplaced courage and a working refrigerator will try to handle a poisonous snake. He knows that when the serpent warms up and wakes up, it'll bite.
The Tea Party serpent has surely bitten the Republican Party.
Now the voters – and the Republican Party – have apparently learned that lesson. Political analysts say that nationwide, only 15 percent of voters favor the Tea Party today. That was reflected in Tuesday's primary results.
The flirtation with extremism has proven a big mistake for the Republican Party, just as Democrats' flirtation with extremism (remember their sojourn in the wilderness in the 1980s and the impact of the left-wing MoveOn.org in the late 1990s?) was a big mistake for them.
The voters' message – for those with ears to hear it -- is clear: Lead with reason, and with enough courage to turn away the false invective. The extremist elements of the Tea Party are a serpent the Republicans -- and the nation -- can do without.
^^^^^
Frances Coleman is a freelance writer living in Baldwin County. Email her at fcoleman1953@gmail.com and "like" her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prfrances.
Haven't you heard? We're all Domestic Terrorists now.
We are forces of chaos and anarchy
Everything that they say we are, we are
And we are very
Proud
Of Ourselves
What about their present embrace, much more than a flirtation, of likely-Kenyan-born Obama's big-government, constitution-shredding, virtual dictatorship and simultaneous turd-worlding of the United States?
Contrary to a top front-page story in today’s WSJ, which in spite of a very misleading headline (who writes these things?) said pretty much the same thing that a previous news story said: The tea party ideas are winning. The head of FreedomWorks was quoted as saying they (non-tea party candidates) are embracing our ideas.
I think we all know what time it is.....actually we've known for a while, but now it is.....?
Frances Coleman
What it looks like to me is that the GOP is in for a MAJOR letdown. I know I won’t vote for a moderate. I will actually vote for a dem before I vote for a RINO. Yes, I want to destroy the GOP....and I think that destruction has begun.
The Teaparty will stay home in droves come November, and the RINOs will NOT gain control of the Senate and may (I hope) lose control of the House.
God help me I’m destroying America!!!
Frances Coleman
Participated in panel discussions and interviews on regional, national and international news programs including the BBC, “The Jim Lehrer News Hour” on PBS, “Morning Edition” on NPR, MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow”
“Blast this braindead twit”
This is why tea party got shellacked.
GOPe would say, “explain to her why we repectfully disagree”
GOPe and teaparty are not that different in the political views.
The main difference is GOPe has “good manners” and teaparty does not.
So this “journalist” never actually had a job. Now I’m a radical, extremist quasi criminal for wanting a government that remains within the constraints of the Constitution and respects it’s limitations in the Bill of Rights. I don’t want a nanny in Washington and clearly I don’t trust the government to chose my interests over their crony capitalist buddies. I’ll trust free enterprise and I won’t fall for the hysteria of “climate change”.
Jason C. Gray
Your liberal bias is shining through! Please point to one thing this Disfunctional administration has done to sucessfully further this country and improve our image on the world stage. And please dont even say the ACA. We already see the failure it has become!
49 minutes ago
https://www.facebook.com/PRFrances
“Yes, I want to destroy the GOP”
I find it amazing that GOPe wants to defeat the democrats while teaparty wants to destroy the republicans.
All RINO’s have skewed more to the right, thanks to the Tea Party candidates running against them. So there is lot of positive things going on.
“the RINOs will NOT gain control of the Senate and may (I hope) lose control of the House.”
Amazing that you would rather have democrats have complete control of the govt rather than have the usual check and balance provided by an opposing party.
“Nope. I’m not a republican.”
Honesty and a good conscience would then preclude you from voting in our primaries.
That's a two-way street.
And if you think we're not 'nice' or 'polite', you haven't seen anything yet.
/johnny
/johnny
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