DEMOCRATS AND THE RADICAL LEFT

What is moveon.org, the Daily Kos and their ilk to do? They worked their fingers to the bone for the Democrat party only to be disappointed by the early on post electoral moves by the both the Dems in Congress and by Obama as well. How should radical leftists handle such news?

They should follow their nature, of course. That would be the pattern of any number of leftist radical idols such as a Bill Ayers, just to name one. Riot, destroy, bomb, scream, yell epithets, throw blood, be shockingly obnoxious, condescend and insult, make false claims, avoid cleanliness so as to appear wholly unkempt, live and travel in large packs, intimidate by the sheer force of numbers and noise, scream down any and all opposition, and, whenever the media is present, burn the flag.

The beauty of being on the far left extreme is that having and presenting convincing and logical arguments in order to influence opinion is not required. Fringe leftists know they are in the right, facts, evidence and debate be damned. In their rather narrow view, might makes right and the rest of society had just better well fall into line. Immediately.

Should one need a current example, simply observe the gay marriage madness on display in large cities across the country. The radicals behind that cause believe that wild, threatening, angry behavior will convince the general public that their cause is worthy of support. There is a total and complete disconnect between what they think is working and how the public views their activities. Many votes have been taken on the matter and the results have all been the same. Yet in this democracy, extremists continue to view the will of the people as wrong when it does not match their cause.

Which brings us to the Democrat party. The forces of the more radical left, as opposed to the center left, have taken over the levers of power in that party. The Soros financed end of the party is in charge. That is why the far leftists have been so energized by the election of Obama, the Soros choice for President. Most certainly Pelosi in the House and Reid in the Senate are close to as far left as an elected politician can get on the national level. As to Obama, his discernible background, what little of that there is, has been far left as well.

So what happens in the immediate aftermath of the election? As is addressed in the piece below, moderate and longtime Democrat Senator Joe Liberman, who was an open and enthusiastic supporter of McCain, is allowed to keep his committee chairmanship in the midst of adamant demand by the far left that he be drawn and quartered. Worse, even Joe acknowledged that Obama had a hand in that decision. The radicals have been in a tizzy ever since. When they want blood, Obama and the party give them cake.

It is, at this point, hard to tell how things will progress going forward. Obama tossed the far left a bone by stating he plans to close Gitmo. But the how and when of that loom as major questions and formidable obstacles. Further, we had plenty of examples during the campaign of the Obama crowd abandoning whoever and whatever was required in order to insure election. Goodbye, Reverend Wright. See ya, Trinity church. So long, immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq. The list is extensive. It is the mark of a practical politician, willing to go anywhere on the map to succeed.

The problem for extremists of the left is just that: Obama is a smart and focused politician. He knows that going to the extreme holds no water with the vast majority of Americans. As a practical matter, he will govern more to the center because that is where the bulk of American political sentiment lies. Most people in this nation have political views that fall somewhere within the shortened spectrum running from center left to center right. The far left may now control the Democrat party and the far right is most certainly trying to regain control of the Republican party (and are likely to succeed), but the mass of people in America fall into the political center, regardless of party affiliation or no affiliation.

To govern, Obama must move toward that middle. He will be able to continue to throw bones to the radical left but most of what he must do to succeed will tend to lean to the center. Moveon and the Kos will be mostly abandoned and largely left behind.

Expect that they will be themselves.


The Lieberman Pardon
Democrats decide they still need the Connecticut Senator.

Bygones will be bygones -- at least when the future of the Senate is at stake. Yesterday, Democrats decided not to boil Joe Lieberman in oil after all.

Mr. Lieberman's colleagues are still seething about his support for John McCain and his more heretical defense of President Bush -- and many were intent on post election retribution. But they ended up voting 42-13 for rapprochement. The Connecticut independent will not be stripped of his most powerful committee chair but rather of his post on the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection Subcommittee. This is punishment via feather duster.

At a press conference, Mr. Lieberman singled out an "appeal by President-elect Obama himself" as the main reason he's staying put. It was a shrewd move by Mr. Obama. Democrats picked up six Senate seats this year, with Minnesota, Georgia and Alaska still undecided. If they prevail in all three, they will have the 60-vote majority needed to quash any GOP filibusters -- but only provided that Mr. Lieberman continues to vote with his former party.

As with his sit-down with John McCain on Monday, Mr. Obama is obviously trying to assemble the votes he needs to beat Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on domestic priorities such as labor, health care and climate change. The Internet left and other liberal activists are in full meltdown because a bete noire was not sent to the guillotine. Even so, Lieberman alive is of more use to the new President than Lieberman banished.

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