But this belief that "balance" and "centrism" are intrinsically sober is itself a deeply corrupt and shallow notion. What if one side really is far more destructive and more toxic than the other -- not even necessarily because one side is more inherently corrupt but just because it exerts far more power? What if the administration and its political followers who happen to be running the country at any given time really are radical extremists and unprecedentedly corrupt and dangerous? Under those circumstances, practicing Beltway "balance" for its own sake -- venerating Broderian "centrism" -- is deeply unserious, even dishonest and dangerous.
When there is grave imbalance in political power, corruption or extremism -- as there has been for the last eight years, at least -- then those who preach balance and demand a centrist critique of everything are the ones who are mindless, misleading partisans. They demand centrist equivalencies as an ideology, regardless of whether those equivalencies are real.
The Paragons of Balance and Centrism are actually often destructive. By design, they prevent exposure of truly radical and extreme political misconduct by demanding that every criticism be restrained, muted, two-sided, drained of intensity, and circumscribed by false equivalencies -- lest the critique be dismissed as a "partisan screed." In this regard, those who insist upon the intrinsic virtues of Balance and Centrism in political commentary are the greatest allies of extremism and the most loyal protectors of the politically corrupt.
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