Cha Ching Votes

I've been watching Drew Armstrong discussing w/ Libby Casey on C-SPAN the final hours of Harry's haggling in the Senate -- specifically regarding Landrieu's receipt of $300M for LA, Nelson's earmarks for NE (inc. possibly removal of a threat to place Offutt AFB on the Base Realignment And Closure list), & anticipated pork for Bernie Sander's NH (ironically meaning that the Dem. leadership has to pacify both ends of their party). Callers were decrying Nelson for being a sellout; it occurred to me that I couldn't tell if they were conservative or liberal (they weren't being specific about why they dislike his change, whether it's over money, abortion language, or something else). This illustrates a larger point about politics: negotiators in the middle of the road can earn disrespect from both sides when they hold out for earmarks. It's interesting that so many laud moderates for taking the high road, so to speak, as opposed to the extremists. But is middle-of-the-road always a principled stand? Are people at the ends always merely letting their emotions get the better of them, or following their prejudices, or something of the sort? That's not to say, of course, that the respective bases of the parties never compromise for dishonorable reasons. I think everyone bends, and more often than we like to think, for selfish ends. Only God can keep us from our own desires & from others manipulating our desires to their ends.