The Third Position of Centrism

In the United States, there is this mythical existence called "centrism." If you listen to our media, or our political parties, there's always a call for bipartisanship. There's always this idea that, if you call the right out for being the frothy fucking liars they are, then you've got to be "balanced" and reassure the population that the leftists are just as bad. You have to appeal to this mythical centrist unicorn; this rare, neigh invisible creature that exists less as a corporeal entity and more as an idea that is aspired to.

It isn't an idea we need to aspire to reach. Centrism is not a good thing. Being middle of the road doesn't make you more "mature", and it doesn't mean you put anymore thought into your positions than someone on either extreme of the political spectrum. A centrist is someone who hasn't decided anything, doesn't believe in anything, and doesn't take a stand for anything. A fence-setter - that is, someone who always answers poll questions like "Do you think the sky is blue" with "undecided" - is a centrist. I'm not saying you need to be an extremist, I'm just saying that centrism is not a state to aspire to. In a way, centrism is every bit as dangerous as extremism.

Centrism is not revolutionary. Centrism is reactionary. Centrism is a toxic, destructive force - it is not "capitalism with a human face." It's "corporatism with a Citizen's United mask".

Of Tea and Paranoia

I'm not at all confused by this. In fact, after Wisconsin, I'm shocked that the Republicans are still trying to hide it. According to Think Progress, the Maine Teabaggers are expecting to shut down same-day voter registration at the polls.  So what's this mean? Well, same day voter registration allows voters to arrive and register at the polls, without having to wait in line. This means people who otherwise wouldn't have the time to wait three hours at the Sec. of State can register right there and then vote. None of this quick stuff. You'll have to wait just like the rest of us.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of these voters are democrats. Honestly, I love democrats. I just we were more responsible about our voting habits. But the GOP is trying it's damnedest to make it harder for us to vote; between redistricting to this garbage, it's almost like they don't want us voting because, well, they know they'll lose.

Oh, but wait - it gets better. Let's listen to what the state chairman said about this:

“If you want to get really honest, this is about how the Democrats have managed to steal elections from Maine people,” Webster told a columnist for the Portland Press Herald in a piece published Friday. “Many of us believe that the Democrats intentionally steal elections.”

So, wait. "Many of us believe that Democrats intentionally steal elections." Translation: "I disagree with you. Therefore, you steal elections because people don't give a rat's ass about what I believe, because I simply cannot get it through my fat head how democracy works."

...
Hey, that makes perfect sense.
"There's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is -- the more of mine there is, the less there is of yours." That's pretty much the Tea Party mantra, and that apparently applies to voting rights, too.

And this isn't the only bill like this. All across the nation the GOP is trying to make it harder and harder for democrats to go out and vote. Voter ID laws are popping up all over the place, to protect you from voter fraud, despite the fact that there's only been one case of it 143 years. Smaller governments regulate who can and can't vote, apparently.

I'd call them fascists, but that'd be an insult to sticks.