Are You an Extremist?

[mikesilvia]

After Rep. Paul Ryan was announced as Mitt Romney's running mate, it took less than 24 hours for The New York Times to define Ryan as an "extremist." In a lead editorial, the paper bannered this sub-headline: "With no...

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[INTIMADATOR2007]

--If you believe traditional marriage should be kept as the exclusive standard, you are not only extreme; you are a homophobe.--If you believe all Americans should pay less in taxes, you are greedy and an anti-poor extremist.--If you believe the Second Amendment gives Americans the right to buy and possess guns, you are promoting violence in an extreme way.--If you believe the government has a duty to combat overseas terrorists without giving them constitutional protections, you are an extreme anti-human rights individual.--If you believe abortion is the taking of a human life, you are an anti-woman extremist.--If you support securing the nation's borders and regulating immigration, you are anti-Hispanic.


Yep , I'm an extremists...

[shrewsbury]

sounds like I am one too!!

[habsheaven]

I can understand this rhetoric being displayed on a messageboard. What I don't understand is that so-called journalists get paid to write this stuff. You guys are just as extremist as all of us liberals are in your minds. Imagine that. You don't get to host the pity parade by yourselves.

[Wickabee]

If that list exists elsewhere, then whatever. If Bill wrote that all on his own he just dropped several notches in my book. What whining.

[AUTaxMan]

I can understand this rhetoric being displayed on a messageboard. What I don't understand is that so-called journalists get paid to write this stuff. You guys are just as extremist as all of us liberals are in your minds. Imagine that. You don't get to host the pity parade by yourselves.

It would be interesting to see an accurate depiction of the political spectrum and some polling numbers to see whether popular notions of extremism are, in fact, extreme. The first step, I guess, would be defining what the center of the political spectrum is. On a particular issue, wouldn't that be what the plurality of people (that is, the largest group of people supporting a particular position on an issue) believe?

[ensbergcollector]

while people seem to want to lash out at the list and o'reilly, would anyone like to share how he is wrong?

people who are opposed to gay marriage are called homophobic all the time
if you oppose welfare programs you are called racist and anti-poor

i know the rhetoric is harsh but that doesn't make him wrong


now, I am not saying that people on the left are not labeled all the time as well. that doesn't make him wrong though

[habsheaven]

Here is where he is wrong:

He states:

“In the bubble that is the liberal media, trimming government spending and making entitlements more fiscally viable are extreme positions.”

Wrong. No one, the media included, thinks it is “extreme” to cut government spending or make entitlements more fiscally viable. It is the manner in which the right want to do both that the left finds extreme. Claiming otherwise is just the right’s way of deflecting criticism.

He states:

“Never before has the USA run up such an enormous debt and had so little to show for it.”

Wrong. Did he forget about IRAQ? Why no mention of the reason Obama has spent so much? Did he forget that the US economy is trying to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression, and the housing bubble that burst has never been this bad before?

For all the other accusations:

I have seldom, if ever, heard the word “extremist” being used to describe the opposing views. Once again this is a feeble attempt by the author to discredit the left by over-exaggerating the claims made against the right.

[Wickabee]

while people seem to want to lash out at the list and o'reilly, would anyone like to share how he is wrong?

people who are opposed to gay marriage are called homophobic all the time
if you oppose welfare programs you are called racist and anti-poor

i know the rhetoric is harsh but that doesn't make him wrong


now, I am not saying that people on the left are not labeled all the time as well. that doesn't make him wrong though

Who's lashing? It's a stupid list that he created for no other reason than to complain. Last election's buzz word was "elitist" now it's "extremist". Going with the alphabetical theme, next election Republicans are goin to complain about being labelled "fundamentalist".

For a party who was so excited about Ryan bringing real issues to the table, the Republicans and their media sure are throwing out a lot of distractionist tactics and saying nothing about any actual issues. For all the "WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES!" they all seem to be talking about anything but. There was more talk over issues before Ryan showed up and now it's, "boo hoo, they're calling us a name we've been calling them for years" and, "Hey, did you hear? Ryan has a 6-pack!"

[ensbergcollector]

as for your first point, i think that is just a matter of wording and opinion. i haven't seen many democrats agreeing with trimming entitlements at all, much less to the degree republicans want.

secondly, it is a fact that we have never had such an enormous debt. I know our economy was tanking and obama felt he needed to do something, but people on the left tend to just ignore the epic failure that was the stimulus plan by saying "he had to do something." also, obama gets a pass from the same people who wouldn't give bush a pass when the economy tanked as a result of 9-11 and corporate scandals like enron. Just because obama had to do something, does not mean the trillions spent in the stimulus plan was wise or that it worked.

i will agree that extremist is not common but it is not rare either. again, probably just a matter of what one considers a lot. but i will agree that he overexagerates.