John Avlon: "How the Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America"

"Politics is the last place where we're supposed to be satisfied between Brand A and Brand B," says John Avlon, author of the engaging new book Wingnuts: How The Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America.

Hyper-partisans and rhetorical extremists on the left and the right—characters such as Reps. Alan Grayson and Michele Bachmann, commentators such as Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck—are not simply polarizing the debate, argues Avlon, who is a regular presence on CNN and a columnist for The Daily Beast.

Far more importantly (and destructively), they are obscuring the fact that the U.S. electorate is, in the main, proto-libertarian. Independents are the fastest-growing group of voters, says Avlon and, "They tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal to libertarian."

Avlon is also the author of Independent Nation: How Centrism Can Change American Politics.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Avlon in Reason's D.C. offices. Filmed by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Bragg. Approximately 10 minutes.

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[hoserPhalanx]

@priorzola

You're not insulting anyone by using the term "teabagger," you're only showing your immaturity.

[orcgoat]

oh man this is awesome, the comments here justify everything in the video

[graemeEf1]

Olbermann is not the equivalent of Glenn Beck. Grayson is not the equivalent of Sarah Palin.

[murkythreat]

So true our country is so divided by such crazy propaganda from both sides.

[leapingfury]

A large amount of conspiracy theories are very real. Whenever two or more people get together and secretly plan anything it's called a conspiracy. If the info. leaks out and public officials acknowledge it the conspiracy becomes a fact. For matter public officials rarely actually acknowledge anything unless they are under lots of pressure by the public.

[AudiophileTubes]

Olbermann and Grayson make a LOT more sense than Bachmann or Beck!

[9971explorer]

Nobama is bridge builder? What a joke!

[ThisEducation]

I dislike John Avlon. I think Sara Palin is a joke. What this guy stands for is this: he loved the GOP of George W. Bush. He loves amensty. He loves the never ending wars. He's open to hate speech laws. He's for affirmative action. He's for the EEOC. He's against state's rights. He prefers 3 networks on TV. The internet worries him. He is the establishment incarnate. And again I dislike Glenn Beck, Palin. and Bachmann. The rheoteric is more heated b/c the issues facing us are more grave.