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To your points….I’m not sure I agree that we’ve sent the definition off into the corners. The question I would have is what as the left done to combat this issue? I honestly hadn’t considered we had been responsible for it. I would maybe say we’ve drawn the lines between right and left more effectively than previous but I’m not altogether in agreement about the marginalization of anti-war, feminist or environmentalist groups. I’d say Greenpeace and others (notably several groups in Colorado and other states) have done that for themnselves through what I would consider extreme actions.

As for anti-war, I’m starting to weave towards their position slowly but the protests and actions are what is keeping me from heading down such a road or considering it. Reading stories of the protests in which they aim to block shipments by tearing through a fence and sitting on the road and refusing to move…that’s the kind of stuff I could never sign on with. Maybe I’m a cowardly rightie but I prefer to go about it differently.

The repeated calls to bring the troops home now are also grating on my nerves. My same age cousin was sent there with the Montana State National Guard and served his time. He came home to Great Falls with some amazing stories. Most of all his opinion was we needed to stay to keep things in order.

The anti-war establishment has in my rightie mind helped marginalize itself with the outlandish ideas on solving the problems to simply bring the troops home and offering no such plan to help the Iraqi people (and Afghan as well) should we walk out. At least that’s how I see it. Call in the UN? They can’t even handle the Darfur, Timor and other worldly crisis. Whose gonna do it? Nobodies stood up to shoulder the load as far as I can tell. At least nobody effective.

As for feminists, they’ve not been as active in my world view. That might be because it’s limited at times (mostly due to me being outside the country right now) but I’ve not seen them making the headlines they used to make.

Again, all of these perspectives come from a conservative viewpoint and it’s how I see the three things you mentioned. I think this country has a long way to go before we can all get around a campfire and sing kum-ba-ya but maybe around the next time the election comes we all will have a chance to mend some fences.

I honestly hope those men and women in DC and the states see the division and come to a place of compromise politically and also personally.

It’s a dream at least.

P.S…I know some of you boys are in Montana. Anyone recognize the last name of Dahl or DeLay and the city of Scobey or Opheim? Random Montana question.

I would pull out one point from the discussion that I think I would disagree with:

As for your statement we’ve got extremist Republicans I’ll disagree with you there. President Bush isn’t an extremist.

I think I might have agreed with that sentiment before the doctrine of preventative war, before the unparalleled surveillance of Americans, before his assertion of almost unlimited executive authority…after those, he moves closer to an extremist. The thing is, that in the past 10 years, the conservative movement has done a great job of moving the ball. What was once moderate is now liberal, what was once far right is moderate conservative.

The are winning (or have won) the definition debate…marginalizing those who are anti-war, femininst, or environmentalist, to name a few. It’s been a huge shift.

As far as aboriton goes, I think finally both sides are realizing that everybody wants the same thing: fewer abortions.

Isn’t that a starting point for compromise? The question is, how do we get there? By outlawing it and creating intrusive regulations over women? That kind of policy has been a disaster in places like Mexico and El Salvador. At least by our standards of individual liberties.

I recently wrote on a Democratic plan to reduce abortion (another post here). I think giving women easy access to contraceptives, healthcare, and the “morning-after” pill, combined with funding for social programs that make single-parenting workable, and heavy restrictions on second and third trimester abortions, we’d dramatically reduce the number of abortions, improve the health of poor and working-class women, and make families stronger without putting anyone in jail or pushing anyone to get “back-alley” abortions.

Not everything has to be done through criminalization. How’s that War on Drugs going?