[Speed Gibson,
Monday April 6, 2009 at 12:06am]
Do Moderates Exist?
I think John Hinderaker of PowerLine said recently that a moderate Democrat is the political equivalent of the unicorn. He's never seen either one of them. Rush Limbaugh has argued from day one that what few moderates might actually exist are too few in number to even register in polls and elections.
I offer Channel 2's latest "Almanac" program as a case in point. The political panel featured three moderates, Curt Johnson, Dean Barkley, and Peter Hutchinson. I voted for Hutchinson over Tim Pawlenty and Mike Hatch in 2006, preferring what I thought was a reasoning, predictable "moderate" to the other two unpredictable candidates.
I must say, I was surprised and disappointed in Hutchinson's performance. There he was, a grown man, someone I thought intelligent, well read, and capable of independent thought, claiming that President Obama is a centrist. He then went on to praise his G-20 summit performance, citing events that never happened. It was nothing but White House talking points.
Then we have Dean Barkley, who still acts like he has his old job working for Governor Jesse Ventura. Ventura had shown the way - raise sales taxes - but of course neither major party would listen. Whose administration raised spending the most from 1994 to 2006? Carlson? Pawlenty? No, it was Barkley's common man "moderate" idol, Governor Ventura. Yes, we got rebates, but most of the "windfall" surpluses was spent, and the "Big Plan" is a big part of the deficit today.
Curt Johnson, former head of the Metropolitan Council was soft-spoken, but clearly had no problem raising taxes this year. You may remember that he won praise from liberals for flipping on Light Rail, like Prime Minister Pawlenty also did. By any reasonable definition, a moderate should never support anything with an extraordinarily lopsided cost - benefit ratio like Light Rail.
So, do moderates exist? Before answering, let me use myself as a last example. I oppose the local property tax caps that most in the GOP support. I would give school boards the same power to levy property taxes that the city and county have, requiring referendums only for bonding. Does that make me less than a purebred, at least a little bit moderate? Not at all. I seek the same government restraint and accountability all Republicans embrace. I differ only in how best to get there.
You know what the real difference is? I don't claim to be a moderate. I claim to be an American, a Conservative, and a Republican. It's the people who claim to be a moderate that should stand up and just admit what they really are.
I offer Channel 2's latest "Almanac" program as a case in point. The political panel featured three moderates, Curt Johnson, Dean Barkley, and Peter Hutchinson. I voted for Hutchinson over Tim Pawlenty and Mike Hatch in 2006, preferring what I thought was a reasoning, predictable "moderate" to the other two unpredictable candidates.
I must say, I was surprised and disappointed in Hutchinson's performance. There he was, a grown man, someone I thought intelligent, well read, and capable of independent thought, claiming that President Obama is a centrist. He then went on to praise his G-20 summit performance, citing events that never happened. It was nothing but White House talking points.
Then we have Dean Barkley, who still acts like he has his old job working for Governor Jesse Ventura. Ventura had shown the way - raise sales taxes - but of course neither major party would listen. Whose administration raised spending the most from 1994 to 2006? Carlson? Pawlenty? No, it was Barkley's common man "moderate" idol, Governor Ventura. Yes, we got rebates, but most of the "windfall" surpluses was spent, and the "Big Plan" is a big part of the deficit today.
Curt Johnson, former head of the Metropolitan Council was soft-spoken, but clearly had no problem raising taxes this year. You may remember that he won praise from liberals for flipping on Light Rail, like Prime Minister Pawlenty also did. By any reasonable definition, a moderate should never support anything with an extraordinarily lopsided cost - benefit ratio like Light Rail.
So, do moderates exist? Before answering, let me use myself as a last example. I oppose the local property tax caps that most in the GOP support. I would give school boards the same power to levy property taxes that the city and county have, requiring referendums only for bonding. Does that make me less than a purebred, at least a little bit moderate? Not at all. I seek the same government restraint and accountability all Republicans embrace. I differ only in how best to get there.
You know what the real difference is? I don't claim to be a moderate. I claim to be an American, a Conservative, and a Republican. It's the people who claim to be a moderate that should stand up and just admit what they really are.
I will tell you what I found most interesting in Friday's Almanac. I had heard that there were serious divisions within the house Republicans. I hadn't known until Friday, that some conservative House Republican members were refusing to caucas with their party.
Oh and Hutchinson is a technocrat. Technocrats can sound reasonable when they are talking about how they would solve concrete problems. Their bigger vision is always about expanding the role of government in the name of problem solving, which means more taxes, less freedom for the rest of us.
- Liberal
- Moderate
- Conservative
- Independent
Seems these are as elusive as the Unicorns. Most folks are Conservative, at least with their own money. Often they see waste when they see money spent on things they do not value or understand. Yet these folks will happily fund things that in some way help a cause they care about. I guess the real conservatives are those that turn down Government funds when the money could help themselves or their cause. This would show conviction regarding stopping the spending.
Now is that Conservative or foolish... I have yet to turn down my stimulus checks... Yet if each of does not stop demanding "perks/programs" for us or our cause. How do we expect politicians to stop spending. An interesting Catch 22... (True Patriot)
I think Independent means you are not a member of a political party. It says nothing about the person's views.
Moderates, I suppose, are people whose political views are in the center. They may or may not be members of a political party.
The national debt grew the most under the Republicans... I always vote Republican, yet I was one of the staunchest 281 Vote YES supporters. Does that make them /me Conservative or Liberal...
Many folks believe NASA and military funding would be much better spent in the school system. (double the funding per kid...) Does that make them Conservative or Liberal...
This is a fascinating topic...
This one is older (2004) but the organization is respectable (in some circles, anyway).
http://typology.people-press.org/typology/
Looks more complicated than Liberal or Conservative... Any simpler or more personal definitions?
A Republican one who would raise taxes to beef up infrastructure? Or one who supports gay rights? Pffff--liberals, all!
What about a Democrat who would supports restrictions on abortion? Traitor! Or one who sides agains labor? Wolf in sheep's clothing.
I'm troubled that we've become *so* polarized in our thinking that anything outside of the defined platforms literally defies categorization.
I'd say *any* of the examples I mention could feasibly be called moderate--having views that are between one side and the other. Sadly, they probably wouldn't be welcomed into either camp.
I'm pretty much as liberal as they come, but I admire an Arlen Specter or an Evan Bayh, for instance, even when they infurates me, because I think they're indepenent thinkers who seeks out middle-ground beyond their party platforms.
Until we let legitimate middle-ground thinkers/politicians like Curt Johnson and Peter Hutchinson find a place in our system, I fear we'll end up with divisive outliers like Ventura.