Beware those octogenarian extremists

If you want another example of how far our national conversations have been distorted by the right-wing, consider this. It’s Kevin Drum, one of the best liberal bloggers on the net, talking about the problems with “centrism.”

I'd argue, for example, that good analysis supports a fairly extreme view on Social Security (just leave it alone for now)... (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_11/010288.php)

Here we have the single most popular social program in the history of the country, one that has been in place for over 70 years since the Great Depression, and preserving it in its present form is characterized as an “extreme” view. Granted there may be some irony in its use here, and he makes a worthwhile point in a useful post. But the very idea is disturbing that the word “extreme,” at least without the most dripping sarcasm, could flow off the pen and into a post as a characterization of the desire to keep the Social Security program.