Radical: advocating or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme, progressive or conservative section of a political party; (noun) a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform; a member of a political party or part of a party pursuing such aims
“The American people elected a Senate that is evenly split at 50-50,” Mr. McConnell said in his first statement since word of the retirement leaked. “To the degree that President Biden received a mandate, it was to govern from the middle, steward our institutions and unite America. The president must not outsource this important decision to the radical left. The American people deserve a nominee with demonstrated reverence for the written text of our laws and our Constitution.”
Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer said he wants to act quickly on Biden’s nomination, but in view of bad faith Republican obstructionism over Merrick Garland’s nomination by Obama, he said “We need to be ready and willing to fight, and fight ferociously.” He is probably right about that.
Who is the radical here?
What Republicans want is thorough political and social change in American government and society. Along with wealthy special interests and their money, the GOP is dominated by fundamentalist Christian nationalists who openly want to establish Old Testament Biblical law, Christian sharia, on America. Most Americans would oppose that if they were asked, which unfortunately they are not. In Republican propaganda, anyone who is not a radical right authoritarian, is smeared and slandered as a socialist or communist radical. The GOP lies and slander story is that Democrats and Biden are hell bent on establishing a tyranny where racial and ethnic minorities brutally oppress White people, White rights and the practice of Christian religion. The Republican Party is hostile to free and fair elections and has been for decades.
In situations like this, Republicans never, ever mention the fact that the results of elections are skewed to rural states due to our electoral system. Lies of omission are front and center. For the GOP, it does not matter one iota that most Americans often oppose them. Republicans deny, downplay or distort this reality into insignificance. Republicans govern as radical right neo-fascist Christian fundamentalists and brass knuckles laissez-faire capitalists regardless of public opinion. Republicans in power are no more responsive to public opinion than Democrats. And when Democrats try to push forward policies that most Americans support, e.g., environmental regulation, fairer tax policy, etc., the GOP and lobbyists with their vast free speech (campaign contributions) power is always right there to block it.
By contrast, Biden is a neoliberal capitalist who caters to Wall Street special interests at least as much as he wants to cater to the public interest. Democrats tend to want society to progress as it will and government to reflect those changes over time. Democrats what time to pass, while Republicans want to freeze time and re-establish an illusory past at some ill-defined point(s) in time. Polls show that a majority of Americans support many or most major Democratic goals, e.g., health care, environmental protections and correcting unfair taxation. That includes Democratic Party support for free and fair elections unlike the GOP, which opposes voting rights and free and fair elections, which it has to do in view of its minority status in terms of public support.
Or, are both parties so much alike that significant distinctions are more illusion than reality?
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