Sunday, February 28, 2010

Conservatives targeting their fringe


On the heels of the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts, it looks like Republicans are finally learning that they don't need to kowtow to the far right. I wrote about the need for this back in October.

From the Politico article:

After months of struggling to harness the energy of newly engaged tea party activists, the conservative establishment — with critical midterm congressional elections on the horizon — is taking aim for the first time at the movement’s extremist elements.

The move has been cast by some conservatives as a modern version of the marginalization of the far-right, anti-communist John Birch Society during the reorganization of the conservative movement spearheaded by William F. Buckley Jr. in the 1960s and 1970s.

“A similar effort will be required today of conservative political and intellectual leaders,” former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson wrote in his column in The Washington Post. “It will not be easy. Sometimes it takes courage to stand before a large crowd and proclaim that two plus two equals four.”

Read the full article on Politico here.