The O'Donnell Affect

With all the talk that Christine O'Donnel as an extremist I was struck by how often that charge is used against people who upend the establishment candidates. It started in Utah where Senator Bennet was defeated over his TARP vote, and led to the eventual rise of Mike Lee, who will surely be a Senator next year. This was met with shock from the beltway and howls of outrage! (You could argue the rise of Rubio and Toomey were also part of this trend, but I don't recall the outrage over them unless you count the whining of the GOP elites) Then there was Angle who with Tea support upended the elite and took on the mantel of challenging Reid. She was immediately declared unelectable by prognosticators, but now has a better then even chance to defeat the Majority leader of the Senate. In Colorado the "extremist" Ken Buck has a decent lead over the incumbent Democrat. In Alaska an earmark professional was upended by Joe Miller who will surely end up being the next Senator from Alaska. Now here we are with O'Donnel, who happens to be the extremist enemy of the day. What isn't being noticed amidst the great media pile on is how every step of the way yesterday's extremist politician subtly become mainstream. Its as if attacks fail, the left moves onto a new target that is claimed to be an extremist, and yesterday's target now looks mainstream in comparison. (For the record I consider votes for cap and tax more extreme then any inane social views.) Its as if the entire political spectrum has shifted rightward. Who will be the next "extremist" after O'Donnell becomes accepted as the new norm?