"I think that the Democrats have got more crazies than the Republicans do"
-- Liz Cheney July 21. 2009
TW: The left has crazies for sure but there is one massive difference. We do not put them forward as the public face of our party. This is not immaterial it is fundamental. Equivalence in this instance is false and misleading.
Folks like Liz Cheney who appears like clockwork on network television not only refuse to distance themselves from whacky crap like "birther" fantasies but rather when confronted with issue try to tie it to a nebulous attack line that Obama "refuses to defend America" (why is unclear although the implied meaning is that he is not "real American enough").
Yes modern media (i.e. the internet and youtube) allow the whackos broader exposure. The antidote though is simple, public distancing of mainstream politicians from the fringe. This is the element missing from the Republican party. To their detriment and ours.
From Washington Monthly:
"...Limbaugh, of course, is obsessed...The absurd Birther bill in Congress continues to pick up support from right-wing lawmakers, including Rep. John Campbell (R) of California, who appeared on MSNBC's "Hardball" yesterday to defend the proposal. (Chris Matthews held up the birth certificate on screen before telling Campbell, "What you're doing is appeasing the nutcases.... [Y]ou're verifying the paranoia out there.")
...Liz Cheney...was on CNN again this week. This time, she told Larry King that the Birthers' efforts are Obama's fault. Asked if she believes this nonsense, Cheney said:
"I think that the Democrats have got more crazies than the Republicans do. But setting that aside, I think that -- you know, one of the reasons I think you see people so concerned about this, I think that, you know, this issue is people are uncomfortable with having, for the first time ever, I think, a president who seems so reluctant to defend the nation overseas. [...]
"I'm saying that people are fundamentally uncomfortable, I think, increasingly uncomfortable with an American president who seems to be afraid to defend America."
...As for the larger issue, whether they realize it or not, Birthers are probably doing themselves far more harm than good. Sure, they're ginning up some excitement among confused activists who don't know better, but they're also making it seem as if the president's most aggressive detractors are stark raving mad.
Michael Medved, a leading far-right voice, recently referred to the Birthers as "the worst enemy of the conservative movement." He added, "It makes us look weird. It makes us look crazy. It makes us look demented. It makes us look sick, troubled, and not suitable for civilized company."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_07/019176.php
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