January 8, 2012. Extremists are damaging America.

• Left extremists say “Obama is a Republican” and they hate him.
  • Google that phrase and find 5.7 M (million) web pages.
• Right extremist say “Obama is a Muslim” (6 M), a “fascist” (4 M), a “socialist” (3 M), a “communist (1 M), is”a fag”, “gay”  or “queer” (1.6 million).

This tells us two things. The extremists are nuts, and Obama is well aligned with the average American.

Extremists don’t cancel each other out — just the opposite.

• Left extremists hurt progressives and are a godsend for right extremists.
• Right extremists harm reasonable conservatives but help left extremists.

Together they could wreck the country. Right extremists are fueled by the Murdoch’sFoxNews/WallStreet empire and Koch’s political organizations that created the Tea Party. Left extremists have no such backing and can’t get anyone elected. But they can discourage progressives and take votes from  Democrats. With the two extremes working hand-in-glove (while hating each other passionately), the extreme right could take both the Presidency and the Congress.

This is what recently happened in Hungary, with the result that the ultra-right party has radically re-written the constitution, and although their popularity has dropped to 20%, there’s no getting rid of them.

This is also roughly the tragedy that befell Italy under Berlusconi (three-time Prime Minister) who is both a media mogal like Murdoch and an industrial tycoon like the Kochs.