An expert on Israel?

Cindy Sheehan is understandably upset. Her son died in Operation Iraqi Freedom – a war she plainly doesn’t agree with. Her grief – that of a mourning mother who feels that her son made the ultimate sacrifice for not – is perfectly human, respectable and deserving of sympathy.

But Ms. Sheehan has gone too far. While reasonable people may disagree about the war in Iraq, the human toll it has taken and the progress that is – or is not – being made, Ms. Sheehan has simply taken a radical departure from the heart of the American left to the extreme end of anti-government anarchy.

According to Matt Drudge, Ms. Sheehan is now not only camped out in front of President Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch in protest of the war, but she is demanding the immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq and – unbelievably – the immediate withdrawal of “Israel out of Palestine.” Suddenly, Ms. Sheehan is an international terrorism expert looking to not only quash all hopes of a true democracy in Iraq but also to cleanse Israel from the face of the earth. It seems only a matter of time before we hear Saddam and company’s old chant from her, “from sea to sea.”

This is the sort of radicalism which so hurts the American left today. While reasonable people make valid points about issues like the war in Iraq, the social matter of abortion and the legitimacy of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as a prison staging ground for enemy combatants, radicals like Ms. Sheehan consistently picks up the ball and run so far into left field that the legitimacy of a moderate liberal point is lost. How does John Roberts view abortion? Good question – but it’s not being debated because NARAL ran an advertisement claiming he supports abortion clinic bombers, so the debate soon became over NARAL. Is Guantanamo Bay a fair holding ground? Again, good question – but it’s not being debated because members of the far left have begun using overwhelmingly hyperbolic words like “gulag” to describe the place where prisoners are given copies of holy scripture and fed honey chicken for dinner. And what about an exit strategy from Iraq? We should be discussing this seriously – but instead Ms. Sheehan is hollering about wiping Israel off the face of the earth.

Drudge also reports that she is now refusing to pay income taxes. She has called the media “the propaganda tool of the government,” on a conference call with Democratic leaders like Joe Trippi, giving the allusion that she speaks for the party. And, to boot, she has made other comments so far out of the mainstream that her family has released statements essentially condemning her protest.

You don’t see radicalism like this on the far right. Pat Buchanan isn’t afforded much face time these days. Jerry Falwell stays put in Virginia. And even Donald Rumsfeld is keeping away from microphones more often than not. Simply put, the Republican Party understands organization, realizes how to mold a mainstream message and has quickly learned that if it simply convinces the radical factions of its far-right wing to speak only to their supporters, the radical factions of the Democratic Party’s far-left wing will hang the entire liberal movement.

This is rather sad – our country depends on a strong two party system. But we won’t be seeing that anytime soon – at least not until Ms. Sheehan goes home.