Peter Beinart often writes things that seem to have no relation to reality, but it is now clear that he has moved permanently through te looking glass and into Wonderland. He has a piece in the Daily Beast in which he explains that the Tea Party and Sarah Palin guarantee that 2012 will be a disaster or the GOP. According to Beinart, when a party loses power, it tends to nominate a candidate who is supported by the more extreme ideological core -- for the Republicans this means conservatives like the Tea Pary folks. These more extreme candidates get crushed according to Beinart. Beinart's proof of this phenomenon is 1972 and George McGovern.
I realize that Beinart was not alive in 1972, but there are histories of that time that he could read. The 1972 election was not about radical left policies being pushed by the Democratic base. Indeed, in 1972, the base of the Democrat party was nowhere near as far left as it is today. The election of 1972 was all about the War in Vietnam and national defense. Those who supported the war and a strong defense were for Nixon. Those who were against the war and for accepting defeat were for McGovern. That is why Nixon did so well. While the majority of the country wanted the war to end, they were no prepared to accept defeat. They wanted what Nixon promised: peace with honor. Indeed, the Paris peace talks that were underway at the time were the hope of many to bring peace.
To view 1972 as a template for 2012 makes as much sense as to view the election of 1824 as a template for 2012. There simply is no relation at all. Beinart is pushing a fantasy.
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