All "Rabid Right and their Megaphones" are local !

COMMENTARY
Cooper: Rabid right doesn't represent Republicans
B. Jay Cooper, APCO WORLDWIDE
Saturday, July 01, 2006

I'm a Republican. Ann Coulter does not speak for me. But a lot of people think she does.
The loudest, noisiest, most sensational and now, most repugnant, voices on the Republican side of the political spectrum are defining Republicans.
To me, Coulter's exercise of her right to free speech is the political equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded theater. She crosses the line of decency. Individuals who engage in name-calling and hate speech to get attention, sell books, increase speaking fees and feather their own nests are speaking for themselves, not any political party.
My problem is the popular presumption that she represents the Republican Party. We all get painted with her brush. As a result, the popular perception holds Republicans are against almost everything from abortion to gay people. And nasty about it to boot.
I once worked for a senior Reagan administration appointee back in the 1980s who used to say of the right wing, "They like to look good losing." Translation: They'd rather go down defending their principles than by — as a democratic government is supposed to do — finding a compromise that makes progress for the majority.
That trend of digging in on principle started back then. And, 20 years later, all Republicans are defined by what I believe is a minority in the GOP.
I have talked to many Republicans, including some very young ones, and a vast majority of those I spoke with, in a non-scientific way, are pro-choice. They aren't against any group or way of life. I know plenty who believe government can be a solution — as long as it solves something, and gets out of the way after the solution takes hold. We have been, though, outshouted and, yes, outworked by the most right wing among us. Why? Articulating the extreme won us elections.
One might say, well, Republicans won elections, which shows the rabid right is the majority view. I beg to differ. The country is more right-of-center than left. Which means right-leaning politicians will win more often than left-leaning — especially in national elections.
I also think the electorate is about to say, "Enough! We want things to happen. We want to see you all work together. Disagree, sure. That's healthy. But get some things done!"
By the way, that doesn't mean the Democrats take over. It means the voters will be more discerning and look for candidates who will be reasonable in office — on both sides of the aisle.
When this all began, it gave us people such as President Reagan — who knew how to run a government in a way that made progress for the people. He knew how to work with Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, his ideological opposite, and O'Neill knew how to work with him. They did the politics. And they did the governing. And at night, they had a drink and a few laughs together.
Today, it seems our elected officials — on both sides of the aisle — are more focused on the politics than on the governing.
Rockefeller Republicans were never "sexy" to the media.
"Moderates" don't shout. Moderates by their nature are under the radar. They are not too anything. Just like most people. Most of us are not nearly as good on TV as Ann Coulter.
Here's my point: Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh do not define me as a Republican, nor most Republicans I know. They just talk the loudest and hold the megaphones.
To me, that's not politics, that's show business.

Cooper, deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide public affairs firm in Washington, is a former deputy press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

source: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/07/1cooper_edit.html