Rep. Dennis Cardoza of California – one of those rarest of political animals on Capitol Hill, a moderate House Democrat – has an interesting blog today over at The Hill.
Cardoza argues convincingly that Congress’s approval ratings, which hover around 10 percent, are due to partisan gridlock, of course, but also because Congress no longer looks or sounds like America.
“Over 40 percent of the voters in the nation identify themselves as ‘moderates,’ Cardoza writes. “However, less than 10 percent of the current members of Congress would self-identify the same way. Congress was designed to represent a cross section of America. This is no longer the case.”
Frustrated by the fringies (my word), the moderates are throwing up their hands and walking out the door.
The media, particularly politically moderate pundits, have lamented the fact that centrists are leaving the Senate in droves, with the departures of Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), and Jim Webb (D-Va.) at the end of this year.
Cardoza, who is stepping down at the end of the year, commented further: “There is rarely any mention that this exodus already happened in the House in 2010 — albeit mostly involuntary — and the resulting gridlock should serve as a warning. Scores of Blue Dogs and moderate Republicans either resigned or lost their elections when the Tea Party took power.
“This extremism has absolutely devastated the day-to-day operations of the House. With a great many more moderate retirements already announced in 2012, I don’t see any improvement on the horizon.”
You can read more here.
I'd offer that "This extremism (that) has absolutely devastated the day-to-day operations of the House" has been the goal of the GOP/TP since at least 2006. They saw the tide swinging then, introduced irrational political extremism via Palin in 2008, threw gasoline on the fire with the highly orchestrated disruptions of health care town hall meetings and have kept dumbing down the system, the media and the voters every day since. Listen to what GOP candidates have been screaming since their campaign started, then juxtapose those voice bubbles over American politicians from the late 1940s through James Earl Carter. Voters from those decades would have asked that the candidates be locked up for their own safety if not for the preservation of the democracy. Today we accept the lies, bigotry, hatred and arrogant ignorance as business as usual and we watch the performance, eager to see how low the performers can go.
"I don’t see any improvement on the horizon.” I do. We still have intelligent choices to make in November. We can still demand that sane, honest people stand for us and our democracy in the halls of Congress. But we have to nominate them and support them. Don't wait for change, demand change. For if we fail to vote to protect our democracy in November, the only option remaining is the same one that the first Americans had, and I don't know if the fabric of the flag can withstand that amount of ripping and tearing.
God may bless America but it is Americans who must defend what the Founders gave us.