If you believe the Left is the sane side while the Right's gone off the deep end, watch this extraordinarily sensible and well-reasoned short talk by Stephen Pinker on how political correctness triggers the antithesis of the tolerance it intends, and bear in mind that leftists (especially academics) have gone absolutely out of their mind stridently condemning him for it:
The Far-Left is just as apeshit crazy as the MAGAs and Alt-Righters. Enough radicalization already. I've had it.
America has had it, too, I believe. We're quite obviously primed for Centrism. I don't know anyone who doesn't want to see competent, rational, reasonable, and non-idealogical leadership, even if their pet splinter issues get muddled in the process. Obama largely fit that centrist bill, and I believe he'd have been far more popular and effective running in 2020. He was ahead of his time.
My fascinations very frequently become trendy as time unfolds, and I've been advocating for centrist politics and bipartisan conciliation here on this Slog since 2008. Mark my words: this country is turning profoundly centrist. At a time when everyone else sees utter partisan bifurcation, I see myriad - perhaps even most - moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats - plus vast hordes of the politically disengaged - eager to let go of (or at least compromise on) their pet issues issues and embrace competent, rational, reasonable, and non-idealogical leadership. America is as tired of left-wing craziness as right=wing.
I'm not describing a ditzy kumbaya of "why can't we work together?" Rather, a pragmatic, realpolitik push to transcend cable news issues and concentrate on the actual process of governance. Not creating a zillion new gov programs, nor smashing it all in some Randian furor. Just calming the F down and getting all Michael Bloomberg up in this thing.
My only worry is whether an appropriate candidate can/will appear (I expect the Democratic establishment to nominate a hard leftist ala Sanders or Harris, those guys being unable to rise to an occasion if a rocket were strapped to its collective ass).
Third parties are always tough; the worry will be that it'll split the anti-Trump vote, facilitating reelection. But maybe this time it can work. Please, Lord, give us a Schiff/Yates ticket in 2020....
Define centrist though. Centrist as in the average of our current political parties, or centrist global/historically? It concerns me that we don't have good language to discuss many of those issues, like the fact that Obama was seen (approvingly) as center-right by much of the world but derided as a mega-liberal over here.
ReplyDeleteYou've just answered your own question, haven't you? :)
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