Extremes Don’t Govern. They Profit.

Why the Far Left and Far Right Need Each Other—and Why the Republic Pays the Price

The greatest threat to the American Republic does not come from Democrats or Republicans.

It comes from the political extremes that have learned a darker lesson: outrage is more profitable than governance.

The far left and the far right speak as mortal enemies, but operate as partners—each dependent on the other’s excess to justify its own relevance. They do not seek to repair what is broken. They seek to monetize it. And as long as they control the loudest microphones, the work of governing will remain unfinished.

Extremes Thrive on Noise, Not Results

Extremists on both ends of the spectrum rely on the same fuel: perpetual crisis. Every issue must be existential. Every compromise must be treason. Every opponent must be evil.

The far left reduces complexity to ideology, dismissing tradeoffs as moral failure. The far right treats concession as surrender, confusing obstruction with conviction. Both demand purity. Both punish pragmatism. And both grow louder as solutions become harder.

This is not a coincidence. It is an economy.

Outrage drives clicks. Anger drives donations. Fear drives loyalty. And none of it requires governing—only performing. When legislation fails, pundits and ideologues suffer no consequences. In fact, failure sustains them.

The Republic, however, does not enjoy the luxury of perpetual dysfunction.

Faction Without Restraint Was Always the Danger

The Founders anticipated division. They feared something worse: faction untethered from responsibility.

As James Madison warned in Federalist No. 10, faction is inevitable—but its effects must be controlled. The Constitution was designed to force rival interests to negotiate, compromise, and govern together.

What the Founders feared most was absolutism: factions so convinced of their own righteousness that they would rather burn the system than share it.

That fear is no longer theoretical.

Today’s extremes do not aim to operate within constitutional friction; they seek to delegitimize it. They frame institutions as corrupt, processes as rigged, and compromise as betrayal. The goal is not reform—it is demolition, followed by applause.

Moderation Is Not Cowardice — It Is Work

One of the great lies of modern politics is that moderation equals weakness.

In truth, moderation is more complex than extremism. Extremism offers certainty. Moderation requires judgment. Extremism thrives on absolutes. Moderation demands tradeoffs, patience, and the willingness to accept partial victories in the service of stability.

History bears this out.

Abraham Lincoln was despised by radicals on both sides of his era. Abolitionists called him weak. Secessionists called him tyrannical. He ignored both—and governed anyway. He understood that saving the Republic required resisting the loudest voices, not pleasing them.

Lincoln’s greatness was not rhetorical purity. It was disciplined restraint in the face of pressure to radicalize.

That discipline is what moderation actually looks like.

The Pundit Class Is Reckless Because It Is Unaccountable

There is a critical distinction Americans too often blur: pundits do not govern. Legislators do.

Cable personalities, activists, and online ideologues never have to pass a bill, balance a budget, or live with unintended consequences. They are not accountable for outcomes—only engagement. They can afford maximalism because they bear none of its costs.

Elected officials, by contrast, are entrusted with stewardship. When they outsource judgment to extremes for fear of backlash, they abandon that duty. When moderates retreat rather than endure the abuse, they leave governance to those least suited for it.

The result is paralysis—fueled by fear, rewarded by noise.

The Republic Needs Moderates With Spines

America does not need more ideological arsonists. It requires more lawmakers willing to disappoint their loudest supporters to serve the silent majority.

That was once understood.

George Washington warned that unchecked party spirit would “distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration.” He was not calling for unanimity. He was demanding restraint.

Moderates are not the problem in American politics. Their absence is.

The center is not an ideology—it is a responsibility. It is where durable legislation is forged, where coalitions are built, and where republics endure.

Turn Down the Microphones. Turn Back to the Work.

The far left and the far right will not save this Republic. They do not intend to. Their influence depends on dysfunction. Their profits grow as trust collapses.

Governing will never trend.
Compromise will never go viral.
But it is the only way a republic survives.

It is time for moderates—Democrats and Republicans alike—to reclaim the center, not as a brand, but as a duty. To stop yielding the microphone to those who profit from chaos and return their focus to results.

Extremes don’t govern.
They profit.

And the bill is sent to the rest of us.