The Loss of Moderation

With the annoucement that Maine Senator Olympia Snowe will not seek reelecton to a 4th term, the list of moderates im Congress is getting thinner.  These days, on both sides, it's either "my way or the highway", and compromise is becoming a bad word.  Because no one is giving in, we have gridlock, and nothing is getting done.  While the Democrats can mind having a pro-life member of their caucus such as Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, a Pro choice Republican would be thrown out of the party.  It used to be that compromise was a way of life, and members of congress would regularly cross the aisle to work with members of the other party.  But with the advant of talk radio and the 24 hour news cycle,  partisan hostilities are getting worse.  Where the republicans of the 50's and 60's had moderates like Nelson Rockefeller, we now have extremists like Rick Santorum and others.  And on the Democratic side, This writer would love to have a lot more Senator Caseys and Manchins, willing to buck leadrship and work for the country and not party