General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Whom do you want as the Repuke nominee in 2012 and why? Given all the [View all]coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)and left alternatives which we do not currently have at the national party level. The Occupy Movement offers some tantalizing possibilities in that direction (of a left alternative) but, as yet, OWS claims to be apolitical and has not yet fielded a slate of candidates nor officially endorsed any.
Still, your observations about the social utility of marginalizing the 'far right' strike me as fundamentally sound. At the risk of triggering Godwin's law for the purposes of offering a historical analogy, the clash of views in 1933 between the Socialist Party and the Nazi Party served principally to legitimize Hitler even further in the eyes of the German people, while not providing much additional benefit to the German working class. Since the Nazi Party at the time enjoyed between 25-33% support in the polls, though, I'm not sure it could be marginalized in any meaningful sense.
Good to hear your thoughtful take though and thanks.