Big Tents and the Grand Old Party

It seems the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt is no longer. Heck it seems the party of Barry Goldwater is long gone. Even Richard Nixon might not recognize this Republican Party.

It's more like the party of Joe McCarthy, full of litmus tests, fake loyalty oaths, and political ideological cleansings. And even more disturbingly, this push to the radical right is being led by talk show hosts!

In a Congressional District held by Republicans since 1872, a woman who was moderate, Dede Scozzafara, sought to replace another moderate, who President Obama appointed as Secretary of the Army. Then the ultra-right wing talk show hosts went nuts. A few people in the district are trying to play this as a grassroots thing, but really, it's national talk-show hosts bullying Ms. Scozzafara. She is pro-choice, neutral on gay issues, and just wanted to do good things for her neighborhood.

The right-wingers found an ultra-conservative who didn't even live in the District when he registered for the office. And by the time the talk-show hosts were done with Ms. Scozzafara, she decided to stop her campaign on the weekend before the election and endorse the Democrat.

Frankly this is sad. Democracy only thrives when there are vibrant and multiple points of view with access to the public sphere. By bullying this viable and interesting candidate to abandon her party and her chance at being an effective legislator, the right-wing talk show hosts have essentially caused a junta, a take over. And they talk like they care about the regular person, but they sure as heck don't want the regular guy to just make a choice.

And what ever happened to the party of the big tent, that allows diversity of opinions, as long as they care about certain principles.

It's sad. Democracy took a hit.

After I posted this, a blog I read about rural issues posted this.