BCT Editorial – 9/11/06

This page was last updated on September 11, 2006.

Political extremes; Editorial; Beaver County Times; September 11, 2006.

This is merely the latest in a series of editorials lamenting the Times perceived lack of clout by so-called “moderates.” Examples include “Bitter divide,” “Road to ruin,” “Lost ground,” and “Moderate middle.” As I’ve noted before, the Times uses “moderate” as a synonym for liberal, progressive, socialist, et cetera.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Mainstream Americans losing their political clout to zealots on left and right

“The nomination of Republican Congresswoman Katherine Harris in a Florida senatorial race last week is a perfect example of the disease infecting American politics these days.

“Harris, the former Florida secretary of state and a fundamentalist Christian, made news in the days leading up to Wednesday’s primary with ideological comments that stirred a flood of controversy.

“The Orlando Sentinel quoted Harris as saying the United States was not intended to be a ‘nation of secular laws’ and that failure to elect Christians to office would permit politicians to ‘legislate sin.’

“Her exact quote: ‘If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin. Whenever we legislate sin, and we say abortion is permissible, and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don’t know better, we are leading them astray, and it’s wrong. ...’

“The comments were published in the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention and drew sharp criticism of from Republicans and Democrats in the state.”

[RWC] While the above quote is indeed accurate, you might be interested in the entire interview for context.

“The problem with Harris (thankfully, her views give her little chance of being elected in November) and her ilk is that they don’t represent mainstream America.”

[RWC] By “her views,” make no mistake about it. The editorial is really referring to Ms. Harris’ Republican views. If a Democrat had made the same comments, I believe we wouldn’t have seen this editorial.

“The bigger problem is that zealots - both Republican and Democrat - who represent minority factions in this country, have succeeded in electing kindred spirits to office, or ousting those who oppose their views. These factions tend to vote as a block, which fuels their power at the polls.

“We also cite the recent case of Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who ruffled enough left-wing feathers over his support for the Iraq war to lose his bid for a party nomination.”

[RWC] As I noted in a previous critique, “With the sole exception of the war on terrorism, Sen. Lieberman is as liberal as you get short of the MoveOn.org wackos. For example, Sen. Lieberman’s 2005 Americans for Democratic Action voting record was 94% and he was the VP candidate in 2000. The American Conservative Union gave Sen. Lieberman a 2005 rating of 8%. Between these two ratings, how much more liberal do you need to be” for the Times to consider a person to be “on the extreme left?” “Everyone knows the Connecticut Democrat primary was a single-issue election in an extremely ‘blue’ state. The only significant difference between Sen. Lieberman and Ned Lamont was that Sen. Lieberman supports the war on terrorism – including the Iraq War – and doesn’t believe we should cut and run. Even so, Sen. Lieberman disagrees with the Bush administration on the execution. Ned Lamont, however, is in the MoveOn.org camp and believes we should get out of Iraq yesterday.”

“Despite what you hear on talk shows and tabloid television, America as a nation is middle-of-the-stream.”

[RWC] Note how newspapers escape criticism. You see, we’re supposed to believe the Times is “middle-of-the-stream.”

“There have been periods throughout history when the nation’s political sentiment has swung to the left or right, but it always manages to center itself over time.

“The problem now is that voices of moderation continue to be shouted down by those on the extreme left and right.

“And if the current trend continues, who will be left to speak for the majority?”

[RWC] Isn’t that what elections do?