Strident Partisan Extremism

For those of you who picked "5" in the office pool as the number of blog entries I'd make before being accused of partisan extremism, step up and collect your prize. For the rest of you, better luck next time.

It's unfortunate that our political discourse has degraded to the point that one lone progressive voice speaks out in red state America and they are immediately labeled as an extremist. It's a shame that our differing ideologies can't complete in a marketplace of ideas without name-calling. It's a tired old tactic. For 8 years now, people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have labeled anyone as "a liberal" who didn't toe the Bush line. It's a way to marginalize the viewpoint being expressed without actually challenging it. I've already come out as a proud progressive (the real kind, not the cartoon version presented on FOX and AM talk radio) so I guess the only thing left to call me is an extremist.

I try to avoid marginalizing other viewpoints. I also try to stick to the facts. Some might say I put too many links and text into my posts, but I feel that's the most effective way to present a point. I'm saying "Don't take my word for it, here's the source of my information".

Who is the partisan extremist? The guy telling people that Obama is a Muslim when he knows it isn't true or the guy who stands up and says "No he isn't, here's proof"?

If telling the truth and exposing misinformation makes me a partisan extremist, so be it.

My theme

I've taken it upon myself to present information to help inform others. I hate seeing people being lied to and having their fears and insecurities exploited. 3 of my 5 posts have been debunking misinformation circulated in chain emails and on talk radio. 1 post was noting the positive change in the Department of Health and Human Services. My first post was debunking misinformation that was pushed during the election and presenting contrary evidence backed by the financial experts at Standard and Poors . Ironically, the latter prompted my detractor to suggest that I stick with the facts and not fall hook-line-and-sinker for party rhetoric. Project much?

The election is over, get over it.

That was the advice I was given. It left me scratching my head. Obama won, why would I want to get over it? Then it dawned on me. Oh, he's talking about my election! I guess I'm already over it. I ran as a Democrat in Northwest Iowa. Everyone knows a Democrat stands a snowball's chance in Hades of winning an election here. Party loyalty is so strong here that having an "R" after your name virtually promises victory. I know several Democrats that that run as Republicans so they can win. I can't tell you how many people told me "T.J., I absolutely love your platform and I completely agree with why you are running, but I just can't vote for a Democrat". I wasn't exactly surprised when I only got 25% of the vote.

My race wasn't about me. I'm not a politician and I don't consider my candidacy as "entering politics". I'm just a regular working guy. It's not a secret that I lack a politician's resume. But I found out enough about the incumbent to want to vote against him. I knew many others who did as well. So I put my hat in the ring and campaigned my tail off. Nine months of strenuous campaigning in an up-hill battle and the painful financial setback has made me happier than anyone to get that over with. If anyone is "over it", it's me. And boy, am I glad it's over. Besides, I met hundreds; maybe thousands of new people, lost 15 pounds, gained a better understanding of our local political climate, and won more votes than all of the registered democrats in my district. I may have lost the election, but I still feel a personal victory.

Let's work together

I'm talking to everyone reading this, not just my accuser. Let's work together. Let's put aside partisanship and name-calling and instead compare ideas on what is best for our community and country. These times call for unity. (Which is why I'm fighting the divisiveness of talk radio and anonymous chain emails.) We need to drop the labels and unite. While conservatives blame liberals and liberals blame conservatives for all of our problems, the elite at the top are picking our pockets and looting the treasury... and those guys don't give a darn about what we label each other.

For those who missed the blog entry that I'm referring to, click here:

http://www.lemarssentinel.com/blogs/1295...