The ends are not the means

Once upon a time, the middle was a pretty good place to be.

America was mighty because of its middle class - the bulk of our nation comprised of firmly grounded citizens who got a good education, worked hard and lived well. Today, the middle class is a shadow of its former self, a thin one on the brink of starvation.

In the political arena, the middle represented balance - the fulcrum upon which extremism found equilibrium. But now, the middle is getting squeezed from both directions, and we think it's a trend that threatens fair representation for most Americans.

You can see it at the national level with the party in power. Longtime Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a self-described centrist Democrat, announced that he will not seek re-election this year. Bayh is the third Democratic senator, joining Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, to say he's retiring.

And it has nothing to do with the political assault from the right. Instead, Bayh and others have become disillusioned because of extremists in their own party. Bayh said in his news conference that too much partisanship and "strident... ideology" are ensuring that "the people's business is not getting done." His decision to retire was fueled largely by the Senate's failure to do two things that made a lot of sense not just to Bayh, but to many Americans: Pass a potent jobs bill and create a deficit-reduction commission.

You can also see the middle getting squeezed right here in Idaho with the party in power. Moderate Republicans in the Legislature will face challenges this spring from candidates of far more conservative persuasions. Although party leaders may deny it, there is most definitely a fracturing of the GOP here, with Pachyderms, Reagan Republicans and other factions serving up candidates reflecting their particular platforms.

While it is fascinating to watch the political metamorphoses unfolding in Idaho and across our nation, this needn't be a laboratory for observation only. Voters wield the ultimate power in deciding how they will be represented. And that power will fail only when apathetic masses allow narrow-minded extremists on both ends to represent the whole.