Frum the Right: I am sure most of you have heard about the firing of David Frum from the American Enterprise Institute a formerly respectful conservative think tank and an intellectual arm of the Republican Party. What happened to Frum is nothing less than chilling and it shows, I submit, WHY it is so important NOT to lose sight of the November elections to make sure the Democratic Party, the party of diversity of thought and free speech, prevails in Congress.

I am a life-long Democrat BUT I know a respectable conservative voice when I hear it and David Frum is such. I certainly I do not agree with many if not most of David Frum's ideas BUT he is bright and he is a good man. The tea baggers, I believe, in the form of Limbaugh-like clones cut off his legs by having AEI fire him directly after he articulated the error of Sen. Jim DeMint's Waterloo comment against the President. Of course, they trumped up other falsehoods and rationales to offer reasons why they did fire him and If you are interested in what happened to David Frum I offer his own explanation at: http://www.frumforum.com/so-what-happened#comments.

I do not think I am saying this frivolously: the tea bag movement and its usurpation of power within the Republican Party resembles the beginning of a fascist-like right wing nationalist movement. It is mind numbing and violent. It seems clear that ONE disagreement, one march to a different drummer in that lock step and you are OUT. Limbaugh and those like him have more clout than an individual like David Frum who is smart and has contributed much over years to AEI and its cause. The powers that be in the tea bag movement will ask -- NO they will DEMAND -- one utters nothing which questions their ideology. One cannot tell them things they do not want to know or hear but things that may be, nevertheless, true.

The Democratic Party relishes diversity and its accompanying ideas. The Democratic party does not stifle speech and DEMAND one take only one position. As much as I am opposed to the anti-choice position of Representative Bart Stupak I am GLAD in other ways he can still remain a Democrat and welcome him. He brings with him more members devoted to other tenets the Democratic Party holds dear.

The Republican Party has become SO mean spirited, SO pathological in its behavior and speech and SO unwilling to court a chorus of voices who can actually get elected. I submit RACE is a HUGE factor in the vitriol as well as our economic hard times which force that racism, always subliminally there, to the surface. It has happened before in other frightening historical eras in other countries. The Republican Party I hope is sealing its own fate by becoming a party of utter extremists who will not tolerate ANY other views but the extremist ones of the tea bag party movement. The American people are NOT extremists and I hope the this movement will lead the major force of the Republican Party to its doom.

Therefore, if we take seriously free speech we MUST keep Congress in Democratic hands next November and work hard for it to do so all around the country. I plan on supporting Democrats in other states in hope that we can ensure Democratic victories in November. I ask you do that as well.