Exit Marx and Mussolini

It's outrageous that Rep. Allen West (R-FL) said he'd heard that as many as 80 of his Democratic colleagues were communists. The far right doesn't need any more hysterical and nonsensical incitements. Then I Googled "fascists in Congress." Sure enough, on April 5 David Seaman at Business Insider criticized "congressional fascists" for a raft of new national and cyber security measures, just the kind of reckless, ahistorical rhetoric that's bound to get the left all riled up.

How ironic and reassuring that the major party nominees will by election day have amassed roughly comparable four-year records as enlightened, pragmatic chief executives. While each is now in his 'Scuse me while I kiss my base period, in the general election it will become abundantly clear that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have so much in common that stale ideological appeals will lack all credibility. They can't evade their records, and they shouldn't try. We've heard more than enough about Marx and Mussolini, about all these imaginary communists, socialists, and fascists. This political year now belongs to the silent and heretofore overlooked majority as the epic battle for the great American center finally begins.