Pollywog Poli-blog

Mirror, mirror

Tonite's live debate on The West Wing had some great acting and some even better zingers ("Going to war over oil is like going to war over sugar."), but one exchange in particular got me thinking. The Democratic candidate, Matt Santos, blasted the G.O.P. candidate, Arnold Vilnick (played by Alan Alda), on the G.O.P.'s expulsion of liberals from it's ranks. And rightfully so. With Limbaugh, et al, cracking the whip, it's become easier for the G.O.P. to tread a tighter party line.

But has the Democrat's treatment of conservatives within their party been any better? Zell Miller would say no, and Joe Liebermann's a pariah in his own party. As much fun as it is to play the polarization card against your opponent, the fact is, both parties are rapidly turning into monocultures, with little tolerance for diversity of thought. And that's a shame, as Dubya's granddad, Poppy Bush, was a liberal G.O.P. senator, and my political hero, Sam Nunn, was for years a strong voice for tough spending and military strength within the Democrats. The rich history of give and take within each party is rapidly devolving into two armed camps, to the detriment of we in the center.

posted by Kevin Creighton @ 8:43 PM