Extreme Extremist Extremism!

By William L. Garvin

“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Barry Goldwater

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) never met a microphone he didn’t like. Last week, he unapologetically disclosed the Democrat playbook by citing orders from the Democrat Caucus to brand every attempted spending cut as “extreme.” We will now be treated to a litany of “draconian” cuts that will result in children dying in the streets, soldiers not having bullets for their weapons, and old people having to choose between eating dog food or paying for their medicine. It will be a veritable apocalypse if government is forced to shut down because of the extremist Tea Party element amongst the Republicans.

Let’s examine this “extremist” meme from a different perspective. Wasn’t it an extreme dereliction of duty that has led to this current imbroglio? The Obama-Reid-Pelosi triune failed to meet their constitutional obligation in passing a budget by October 1, 2010. This malfeasance has led to the current quibbling over continuing resolutions and “chump change” cuts in spending. To date, only about $10 billion in cuts have been enacted. The parties are currently spinning their wheels over the difference between $31 and $61 billion in cuts. That’s equivalent to “emptying the ocean with a thimble” when you’re adding another $1 trillion in debt for the remainder of this fiscal year!

As far as government shutdowns, they’ve happened before. It’s nothing new. Social Security checks were printed and delivered; airplanes took off and landed; and of course, Congress continued to be paid. Lest we forget, NPR, PBS, Planned Parenthood, and the Cowboy Poetry Festival all continued to be funded. It’s only the Doomsday rhetoric that’s extreme.

When the U.S. Agency for International Development says that a nine percent cut in their budget would result in 70,000 children dying, it’s not extreme enough. Representative Pelosi immediately upped the ante to 100,000 because of the impact on the malaria prevention programs. Of course, buried in the historical details is the fact that malaria was well on the way to extinction until the extreme environmentalists, aided and abetted by Rachel Carson, managed to get United Nations and United States prohibitions against the use of the very effective DDT.

When an obscure Florida preacher poached a second fifteen minutes of fame by burning a Koran, that was actually extreme and reprehensible. Even more extreme is the fallout in Afghanistan. After Friday prayers, a mob began torching cars, smashing windows, and rioting for four days (and counting as of this writing). Then these butchers proceed to murder several innocent United Nations employees in Kabul by stabbing, slitting their throats, and beheading. Equally extreme are the liberal contortionists who attempt to construct a moral equivalency between these two actions. It is extreme intellectual hypocrisy.

Speaking of intellectual hypocrisy, where was the liberal outcry when the R & R Gallery in Los Angeles displayed paintings of Jesus Christ portrayed as a monkey? This same gallery displayed another painting of Sarah Palin being crucified. Should galleries be firebombed? Should fatwahs be declared against the artists? Where is the equivalent moral outrage from the left? As usual, their silence is thundering.

Media hypocrisy and double standards are also extreme. During the Bush Administration Iraq campaign, front page news always included the latest histrionics of Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, or any other anti-establishment movement. Apparently the anti-war and protest movement no longer exists during the Obama Administration. The daily body counts, the posting of every milestone, and the continual tabulation of costs is no longer front page, above the fold news. If covered at all, it is buried in the fine print on page eleven.

Where are the demands for timelines? Where is the demand for clarity of mission? What is the yardstick for success? Do we even speak of victory? What is the exit strategy? Wait! Stop the presses…there’s breaking news on Charlie Sheen! Is anyone available or are they all covering Lindsay?

When Congress and the press begin to actually do their jobs, that will be radical; that will be EXTREME!