Time to Move the Political Fringes Off Center Stage

[jaxx]

Leonard Pitts Jr.

Perhaps now, the rest of us will have our say.

If there is an overriding hope for the Oct. 30 "Rally to Restore Sanity" that "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart is holding in Washington, surely that's it: a simple prayer that maybe the rest of us will finally be able to get a word in edgewise. The comedian's rally -- a "call to reasonableness" it says on the "Daily Show" website -- promises a welcome antidote to the tide of craziness now engulfing this country.

<snip> What about those of us who are busy raising our kids, paying our bills, living our lives, those of us who have concerns about the future, questions about the economy, maybe even disappointment with the president, but who are able to express those things logically, without reflexively screaming, invoking socialism or calling anyone Hitler? What about those of us who feel living in a civil society requires the ability to talk, compromise and reason, and that those who insist on behaving instead like a classroom full of five year olds deprived of nap time whenever they don't get their way do not deserve center stage -- deserve nothing, in fact, other than a chair facing the corner.

<snip> We, the rest of us, are the majority. And maybe it's time we started acting like it.

http://www.ihavenet.com/politics/Time-to-Move-the-Political-Fringes-Off-Center-Stage-LPJ.html

[RandomThoughts]

1. Honestly, they lost the right to ask me to be resonable.

When I made arguments that were not disputed, and they were still ignored.

At that point other actions are allowed.

although I still sometimes make arguments, weather they are listened to or not, the arguments still have a purpose.

[jaxx]

2. I don't think he said there shouldn't be arguments.

He said we should argue it through, in a civil way.

[RandomThoughts]

3. Civility requiers both sides to act that way.

Letting people die without health care, or creating scarcity for profit, or many other flaws in the system is not a civil reaction to issues.

If I am civil it is by choice not a requirement.

[jaxx]

5. Yes it does require both sides.

When do you think it'll start?

[RandomThoughts]

8. Great question.

When all people are civil.


Hence why the choice to be civil, even without the requirement is trying to work to that goal. And a positive comment towards what was said also by Jon.

Although society really should reward those that act in 'civil' ways, but also including the bigger concepts of how society is effected by many actions.


On a side note, the 'fringes' are defined by a fringe corporate group as anyone not supporting the status quo, a false argument of what is fringe, since supporting status quo is a fringe position.

[jaxx]

10. Leave it to the word corporate to muddy the waters.

Each of us has the choice to be civil in our disagreements, or not.

[dtmfman]

15. "they lost the right to ask me to be civil?....ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT RESPONSE!

Thank you for that response...it basically hits the nail on the head...

[TheKentuckian]

4. Almost the entire Republican party is extremist so sweep them off

[jaxx]

6. Will politics become more civil with them gone?

I don't like their ways, so with them gone we'll have agreement and get things done in congress....ya think?

[TheKentuckian]

21. It would help by at least allowing sane folks discuss policy and allowing conservative Democrats

to separate would restore a contest of ideas rather than the current effort to co-opt their failed ideology.

[jaxx]

22. I'm not sure I know what you mean about separate.

If you mean the blue dogs, the only way to get rid of them is to vote them out.

[TheKentuckian]

26. In hypothetical where there are no Republicans they would plausibly represent conservative interests

Without Republicans there would be a natural vacuum. Doesn't seem that hard to grasp to me.

[jaxx]

27. Seems like splitting the party to me.

But then maybe that is the idea of separate.

[TheKentuckian]

44. It was your hypothetical and now you're pretending not to get it.

What the fuck do you think would happen if their were no Republicans?

Are you seriously trying to pretend that a realignment wouldn't be a natural consequence.

You asked what would happen or what the benefit would be minus the Republicans.

C'mon now.

[Hannah Bell]

7. there's only one fringe on center stage, the one funded by the koch brothers.

but thanks for our daily dose of anti-left propaganda spin.

[Fumesucker]

9. Oh come on Hannah, you know both sides are equally bad..

And equally wrong..

:eyes:

[Hannah Bell]

13. "sides"? "sides" ? what is this "sides"? they make a false equivalence between

fdr-style liberalism & palin-style fascism.

it's so tiresome & transparent.

(not directed at you, btw, in case there might have been doubt...)

[jaxx]

11. Was that civil?

[Hannah Bell]

12. the anti-left schtick? no, not civil. never civil to spew propaganda.

because to do so means you assume your fellow citizens are stupid, manipulable cattle to be used for your private purposes.

[jaxx]

14. I've never heard of Leonard Pitts Jr. being a propaganda spewer.

To each their own, I guess.

[Hannah Bell]

17. i wasn't talking about leonard pitts specifically.

[pinboy3niner]

16. Are you kidding me, Pitts?

Most people will never see nor hear of this rally, and Fox News will cover it only to disparage it.

I thought it was great--they realy pulled it off, without faling into any of the many traps that could have waylaid them.

Those Americans who ARE rational didn't need it, except as an opportunity to have some great fun. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for teabaggers to suddenly see the light and come home to rationality, or Jesus, or whatever.

[jaxx]

18. Which is probably why he said they need moved off center stage.

They get way too much publicity, and have only one goal...to disrupt and cause friction. That calls the MSM right back into the fray because they give them the pulpit.

[pinboy3niner]

19. The MSM is complicit...

...in giving the microphone to the most extreme, loony views. They promote all the stuff they should ignore. They're only looking for eyeballs, regardless of the harm they my be doing.

[G_j]

20. yea really

Pitts is the pits

[ipaint]

23. The extreme loony views are owned and financed by the corporations

and the elite hoarders that own them.

They need to get off center stage. Until the mushy middle class, that enables their extreme abuse of the poor, the underclass and the homeless, learns to be angry, aggressive and relentless in the fight against the violence heaped on their fellow citizens nothing will change.

40 years of a nice reasonable, compromising and essentially clueless comfortable middle class got us here.

You try being reasonable with an abuser. Let me know how it goes. :eyes:

[jaxx]

25. You beat up the middle class and talk about abuse.

Very interesting. If you ask me, that 'mushy middle class' is not the reason the poor are being abused, you need to look upward to that 2% with all the money for that. The middle class is being destroyed in case you haven't noticed.

[ipaint]

34. Calling the middle class mush is beating them up?

Sorry, but those of us bottom have been screaming at the middle class for decades to pay attention to what the politicians they support are doing to us. Nafta, welfare reform and food stamp cuts, draconian laws making it hard to unionize...etc. etc.

We told you we are your future if you don't start getting angry and demanding democrats stop their rightward march.

We were told by the mushy middle class to just shut up.

Well now the corporations and their criminal elite owners are head stomping further on up the economic ladder and instead of fighting back we get bread and circus celebrity rallies about how to be reasonable by that same mushy middle. WTF?

Again maybe you can tell me how you manage to be reasonable with a violent abuser who is above the law?

[jaxx]

39. I've never responded well to veiled threats of any kind.

The same about being angry and out of control, I lose if I go that route. I win by going right past the screaming and getting down to business in working out a solution.
The Democrats aren't going right, they are on the move left. Step by step. We aren't going backwards.

[TBF]

24. "Can't we all just get along" works for you if you are a

multi-millionaire (like Stewart or Colbert), or if you are a liberal feeding into that. It ends when you lose your job and realize you don't have savings (because wall street snatched those 401Ks). You can't pay your COBRA fees without a job, and that unemployment will only last so long.

Then you might find yourself actually noticing all the poor around you, and you'll have a taste of how most of the world lives.

At that point you might figure out that "can't we all just get along" is a very status quo position intended to calm folks down so they don't rebel against authority - which is really just owners oppressing others for their own benefit.

[laughingliberal]

32. +1000 nt

[laughingliberal]

28. "What about those of us who are busy raising our kids, paying our bills, living our lives, "

That would be the ones who still have jobs or whose businesses haven't failed, yet.

People who aren't able to feed their kids and who would like to get back to living their lives are a bit more inclined to want to see more push from our 'fringe.'

[jaxx]

30. Or they could be on unemployment extensions and hope

a compromise can be reached to extend those benefits longer. Those people are busy raising kids and paying bills too. Living their lives on standby.

[laughingliberal]

31. Unemployment benefits have run out for some. Some lost their homes while trying to live on UE.

We need some policy that helps those who aren't still 'getting by OK.'

We need good economic policy that reestablishes fairness to the system. We won't get that by compromise.

[jaxx]

33. I agree we need it. But what is that policy?

Compromise isn't always wrong.

[laughingliberal]

35. Supply side economics don't work. What you see now is the result of 3 decades if it.

Compromise with it is always wrong unless you are in the top 2%. Then it's always right.

Pragmatism means doing what works. It's not pragmatic to keep doing what doesn't work.

[jaxx]

41. No, that's insanity.

;-)

Compromise isn't always wrong. It greatly depends on the compromisers....on both sides.

[TBF]

43. Hope does not pay the bills or feed the children. nt

[grahamhgreen]

29. Exactly. 6 in 10 want us out of Afghanistan - let's get out now, and secure a Dem majority.

"CNN poll shows growing pessimism over Afghanistan war
AFGHANISTAN

September 29, 2010|By the CNN Wire Staff

Nearly six in 10 Americans continue to oppose the war in Afghanistan amid a growing pessimism about the situation the United States faces in that country, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday indicates that 44 percent of the public believes things are going well for the United States in Afghanistan, down from 55 percent in March.

According to the poll, 58 percent of Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan, with opposition highest among Democrats.
Advertisement

"Six in 10 Republicans support the war, but support drops to 40 percent among Independents and just 20 percent among Democrats," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

The survey indicates that, since the start of September, support for the war has dropped nine percentage points among Democrats, while remaining steady among Republicans and Independents.

Separately, according to the poll, two-thirds of Americans now favor allowing people who are openly gay or lesbian to serve in the military, with 28 percent opposed.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted September 21-23, with 1,010 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

[whatchamacallit]

36. Everyone clasp the hand to your right

and bend over.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

37. Total BULLSHIT

Fringes?

Fringe-s??

Fringe(S)????

There is only one fucking fringe on center stage.

False equivalency fail.

[fascisthunter]

38. I Think Most here are Sick of the Propaganda that both sides are doing the same shit

I'm beyond sick of it.

[JoseGaspar]

40. What a moment to make such an odd argument...

Mr. Pitts seems to have completely missed the elections arriving within 24 hours; elections in which the "silent majority" is invoked by the Republican Party and "taking back our country" is the solution of the teabaggers.

Also invisible to Mr. Pitts is the fact that virtually no Democrats managed to run in 2010 on the reasonable Health Care and Financial Reform legislation. Instead the closing argument of the Democratic Party was that the opposition was crazy - out of the mainstream. Yet that seems to have been a losing argument.

It's too bad that Mr. Pitts was busy "raising his kids", because 2006 was a pretty good time to restore sanity as was 2008. The onset of the Great Recession was a crucial time for Mr. Pitts' sanity. Instead, two years later and within weeks of the election, Larry Summers was still doing a "heck of a job".

That's what happens when you are "busy" and miss the sheer impact of events bowling over millions around you. You become the fringe, moved by history off the stage altogether.

[jaxx]

42. That's a very interesting take on what he wrote.

I'll see if I can find his email address for you, as it wasn't on the article.