Moderation is for suckers.

It seems to me things were more or less alright when elected Democrats were liberal and elected Republicans were conservative.

Now that elected Republicans are beyond conservative, and Democratic office-holders tend to lean moderate, you see a shift of paradigm toward rightist policies.

The point being that there are two ways to get a moderate government, which is to say one that on balance does no harm, arguably the best one can hope for from something as hopelessly subject to corruption and subversion as a national government:

1. Everyone goes moderate at the same time. Not very likely.

2. Everyone goes to their ideological corner and comes out swingin.

The first is a virtual impossibility. The only viable option is the second.

This brings me to the bane of American existence right now: moderate politicians.

You know the type. For every John McCain there is a Joe Lieberman. Lincoln Chafee and Joe Biden. Hell, probably half of the Dem senators are moderates in this way.

These are people more concerned with the power and leverage that straddling the middle gives them than they are with principled leadership.

Do the right thing? Why bother with that when you can wheel and deal for several small things that are good for constituents, even if the vote you're trading for is bad for the country?

Unscrupled politicians who trade votes for pork or brownie points on Bolton, ANWR, Condi, etc., get zero respect from me.

Moderation is for suckers. And we've been getting shafted.

dead armadillos. I think Jim Hightower said that. It's all too true in America today. We either fight like hell or continue the slide in fascism.

middle of the road is a dead skunk.