Moderate Political Activism and the Failure of Extremism
Could we finally be getting so disgusted with the political status quo here in the US that we’re entering an era of moderate activism (that is, activism by moderates rather than extremists)?

Dilbert cartoonist has brass cojones, and demonstrates it every day with provocative blog postings. Among other things, he’s asked how one might justify the aid the US provides to Israel (talk about being willing to touch a third rail!).

Recently, he wrote about his fantasy of creating a Pragmatic Party that would focus on transparency and govern based on opinion polls. It is a fascinating thought experiment and an oddly seductive vision. If he ran, I’d probably vote for him. Heck, I might put him as a write-in candidate.

And in a case of truth is stranger than fiction, several veteran political operatives have actually formed a group, Unity08, to create a unity ticket based on secure online voting. This band of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are trying to tap into moderate activism. As the Washington Post article notes, “Noting that about 85 percent of Americans use the Internet, Rafshoon said that “they can’t all be extremists. There has got to be room out there for us.””

Dare we hope?

And if to underscore the frightening attitude of the extremists, here’s this howler about how Greenpeace activists who passed out protest flyers at a recent Dubya appearance forgot to remove their own boilerplate:

“In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world’s worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE].”

When even the activists recognize the bankruptcy of their own views, surely a change is going to come.