A recent article on dailybeast.com by John Avlon made the point that the “birthers” movement originated with a nutty fringe group of Hillary Clinton supporters called, PUMA—an acronymn for Party Unity My Ass. In an effort to undermine Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, the far-left extremists bombarded the internet with  false stories of his birthplace, claiming he was  born in Kenya and ineligble to serve as President. The ridiculous tale quickly gained momentum and became a mantra of morons from the far-right. It is a scary proposition when far extremes at both ends of the crazy spectrum march in lock-step.

John Avlon, a former speechwriter and aide to Rudy Guliani, is author of a recently published book titled, Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America. He spares neither the far-left nor the far-right. Avlon is not alone in writing about the radicalization of American politics. Two recent in-depth articles—one in the New York Times, the other in New Yorker magazine—deal with the make-up of the disjointed Tea Party “patriot” movement.

Under one roof are fearful people without jobs and pensions, birthers (a code word for racists), “black helicopter” militia groups, 2nd Amendment freaks worried about confiscation of their guns, and an array of off-beat characters who seem to have escaped from insane asylums. Most disturbing is the self-declared Lord and Savior worshiped by large numbers of tea partiers—failed disc jockey Glenn Beck. I’m completely puzzled over Beck’s annointment by many of his fans as some kind of prophet, especially in the wake of his confession of being nothing more than a “rodeo clown.”

One of the great things about this country is free speech. I respect Beck’s freedom to rant, as well as the Tea Party’s protections under the First Amendment. I even agree with a few of the issues raised by rational members of the movement. But some people who have latched on to the movement seem to have checked their brains at the doors of rallies.

The hysterical fear of tyranny proselytized by extremists is contradicted by America’s history. In the aftermath of recessions, depressions, wars and catastrophic attacks by Mother Nature, the Republic has emerged intact. We even survived Ross Perot and his gray-haired brigade of middle-class white folks, many of whom may have found refuge in a new protest movement. So I believe the nation will survive—maybe even flourish—under the leadership of an African-American President. And lets be honest, that is the real, unstated fear of large segments of contemporary protest groups.

One of the worst phrases uttered by seemingly intelligent Americans is, “I’m not a racist, but…..” As someone born and raised in the south, I’ve heard it many times—not only in “the land of cotton where old times are not forgotten,” but in nearly every place that my gypsy-like journalism career has taken me. Now, after decades of incremental gains in dealing with racial discrimination, it is sad that bigotry has again become a unifying force of citizens who are scared of an uncertain future.    

Fear, anger and prejudice has overwhelmed the politics of compromise— the foundation of our multi-party system. And unreasonable partisanship gives aid and comfort to the lunatic fringe. Time will tell if wingnuts can highjack America. Hopefully, John Avlon’s book is an account of a passing craze—a word that is all encompassing.  Prematurely writing of impending doom is a trademark of journalism. It sells books, magazines and newspapers. I should have titled my book, The End is Near, but it’s probably already copyrighted.

I don’t know why I’m plugging another writer’s book. Today’s blog topic was supposed to be how left wing-nuts created the conspiracy myth of drug smuggler-turned-informant Barry Seal, a subject of my tome. Twenty-four years ago, Febuary 19th, 1986, he was assassinated in Baton Rouge by a Colombian hit team after a federal judge stripped him of protection. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Barry survives in the minds conspiracy theorists.

Anyway, by getting sidetracked today has its rewards. I have something to write about tomorrow.