Michelle Goldberg on the pros and cons of political extremism:
Recently, we’ve seen the radically different ways that Democrats and Republicans deal with political radicalism in their ranks.
Throughout the summer, right-wing protestors descended upon town halls nationwide screaming about socialism and death panels, and the GOP consistently defended them and egged them on — even when they came with guns. Meanwhile, Rep. Michele Bachmann called on her supporters “to slit our wrists? in a blood covenant against the Democrats’ health-care reform plans, and though more sober members of her party may have been privately embarrassed, no one rebuked her publicly.
