Friday, April 15, 2011

Going too far, as usual

Political parties always over-reach these days. 

The House Republicans just passed the draconian Paul Ryan budget plan.  Ryan’s plan was courageous but flawed, with no concessions to any moderate or liberal ideas.  Obviously the Republicans steamrollered this through without really considering amendments. 

This will, of course, be the spawning of a left wing Tea-Party-like  countermovement that will bring the Democrats back with a vengeance.

The Obama and Democrat victory in 2008 gave left wing Democrats the notion that they had a country wide mandate for left wing policy.  So they passed Keynesian stimulus spending and Obama Care, which inspired the right wing Tea Party movement, which cost the Democrats the House and their big majority in the Senate.

Now it will all happen again, only in reverse.

How often will these wild swings happen before the extremists of both parties stop misinterpreting election results and trying to govern from their ideologically pure perspectives?  Or, more to the point, since extremists are by definition unable to consider other points of view, when will the adults finally step forward and take charge of negotiating deals that find ways to bring the country together?