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| Look away! Look away! (Photo credit: Norm Walsh) |
Republicans on the extreme ferociously attack their fellow party
members. Those in the middle backpedal to avoid conflict. Republicans on
the extreme are willing to lose elections in order to promote their
principles. Those in the mainstream are quick to fudge their principles
if it will help them get a short-term win.
In the 1960s and ’70s, the fight was between conservatives and
moderates. Conservatives trounced the moderates and have driven them
from the party. These days the fight is between the protesters and the
professionals. The grass-roots protesters in the Tea Party and elsewhere
have certain policy ideas, but they are not that different from the
Republicans in the “establishment.”
The big difference is that the protesters don’t believe in governance.
They have zero tolerance for the compromises needed to get legislation
passed. They don’t believe in trimming and coalition building. For them,
politics is more about earning respect and making a statement than it
is about enacting legislation. It’s grievance politics, identity
politics.
Of course, the professional politicians don’t want to get in the way of
this torrent of passion and resentment. In private, they bemoan where
the party is headed; in public they do nothing.
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