Kerr: A modest treatise on political independence

I'm not a fan of the term "moderate" when describing one's political beliefs. It sounds too wishy-washy to me, too milquetoast.

Put it this way – the late great Sen. John McCain was considered a moderate during his time on office, and he could hardly be described as milquetoast.

It just seems like a matter of common sense. Some policies of the far left strike me as too extreme, as are some of the positions of the far right. But there are elements of rationality in both the Republican and Democratic belief systems, and that common ground is the hill where I stick my flag.

I consider myself a political Independent. Not a Bernie Sanders- or even Angus King-Independent, which in both cases pretty much means die-hard donkey, but one more likely to step over the line at times, depending on the issue.

I have to admit, though, I tend to get more irritated with people on the far right than those on the far left. Probably because liberal extremism, while at times perhaps misguided, is at least intended to look after the interests of everybody, whereas extremists on the right seem more wrapped up in me-ism. And frankly, in recent years I hear a lot more dumb-and-hateful stuff coming out of the mouths of hard right-wingers.

Not that they have a monopoly. A while back, I went with my wife and daughter to a Moms Demand Action type of rally. It seemed pretty clear our current system is making it too easy for wackos to get their hands on guns, and I had no problem showing support for smarter laws.

But at one point a speaker at the rally suggested that if your kid's friend lives in a house with guns, then you shouldn't let them be friends anymore. The implication was that simply owning a gun is the most egregious of sins, even if you handle your ownership in a safe and responsible manner.

I mean, that’s a little extreme, right?

Likewise, defunding the police seems like a really bad idea. And frankly, I don’t know a lot of Democrats who support such a plan. There are other areas where funds can be allocated as well, sure, but let's make sure the people who keep us safe day and night have the resources to do their job.

Meanwhile, a decent dose of nationalism is good for a country’s psyche. (Our home is pretty well saturated with American flags and bunting around this time each year.) I believe if citizens take pride in their country, the best and brightest are more likely to serve and advocate on its behalf, in some capacity or another.

But I’m also well aware extreme nationalism can be used as a tool to manipulate the simple masses into embracing ideologies like Nazism.

A lot of Democrats hailed Joe Biden in recent days for calling out American extremists still trying to overturn a lawful national election, and a lot of Republicans condemned him for the same remarks. If you just step back and look at the big picture, I can’t imagine why a rational person would have an issue with what Biden has been saying on this particular matter.

“I respect conservative Republicans,” Biden said during a speech in Maryland. “I don’t respect these MAGA Republicans.”

Biden repeatedly, and specifically, made clear he was referring to the extreme wing of the Republican Party which seems to live in an alternate reality, saying “they refuse to respect the will of the American people.” Oddly enough, the very folks who have no problem accusing Democrats of being “socialists” took exception to being called “semi-fascists.”

Republicans like Gov. Chris Sununu claim Biden was trying “to call half of America fascist.” Nope. Just the delusional wackos pushing the Big Lie and aligning themselves with a disgraced former President whose only requirement for endorsement is 1,000-percent fealty. And Biden is absolutely correct. I don’t believe for a second all 70 million-whatever people who voted Republican in the 2020 presidential election are either gullible or craven enough to buy into the Big Lie.

Like Biden, there are Republicans I genuinely admire, including New Hampshire’s Sununu and Maine’s Susan Collins. They have managed to hang onto their integrity and self-respect through all the madness, sticking to the core principles of their traditional party beliefs – strong defense, reasonable spending, holding accountable those countries who might behave more aggressively otherwise.

And then there are those – Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy are the two who most frequently pop into mind – willing to prostrate themselves to the nutjob wing of their party out of naked fear of losing power.

You may have noticed this trend where the nutjob extremists have taken to attacking every Republican who won’t embrace the Big Lie as a RINO. The term – intended to stand for “Republican In Name Only” – has been thrown around so much by so many I’m totally convinced many of those using it have no idea what it means.

We’ve heard it applied, laughably, to conservative stalwarts like former Attorney General Bill Barr, former ambassador and national security advisor John Bolton, and of course Liz Cheney. These people, and many others who have been likewise labelled, are in fact more Republican than the disgraced ex-President leading these slanders – who, don’t forget, first campaigned for President in 2000 as a member of the Reform Party.

This mad pageant just further convinces me that somewhere in the political center there’s an island of sanity where stuff can actually get done.

D. Allan Kerr eagerly anticipates history's judgment of today's heroes and cowards.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kerr: A modest treatise on political independence