Every time a post complains about centrists,

[Fresh_Start]

i read it as a post intended to divide us.

What you insult as centrists, is composed of a broad array of people with diverse opinions and philosophies.

[MineralMan]

1. You speak truth.

[brokephibroke]

2. And that is the heart of our party.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I don't even know what a "centrist" is.

As far as I can tell it's a meaningless insult thrown at people who are deemed insufficiently ideologically pure, along with "corporatist" and "establishment."

[Love-All]

5. +1

[Kurt V.]

10. its part of the lexicon to describe the political spectrum. its been around a long time.

yes. some ppl use it as an insult bc they may see things like climate change , income inequality and hyper individualism as bad as they were decades ago and getting worse.

[Fresh_Start]

15. people using the term here are not describing the political spectrum

without knowing my philosophy, they will call me a centrist because I'm not falling in their preferred line

[UniteFightBack]

13. To me it means someone willing to compromise. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Politics is the art of the possible.

You can't get a damn thing done in government unless you compromise (unless you're Trump and you have a fearful, toady-infested Senate backing you up - but we don't want a government like that, do we?). This doesn't mean folding like a cheap lawn chair but it does mean recognizing when you need to give something in order to get what you want. All effective politicians understand this. Those who refuse to compromise end up getting bills passed that name post offices but not much else.

People elected by a diverse population have to develop policies that all constituencies can accept. This requires compromise to achieve a majority vote and the recognition that no one gets everything they want in the final bill. Effective politicians create coalitions and find acceptable compromises.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

17. My natural inclination is to compromise on most things

I guess that makes me a centrist then?

[dalton99a]

4. Labels are generally stupid

Highschoolishly stupid

[LakeArenal]

7. That's the thing to me.

“Liberals” like Sanders
“Moderates like Buttigieg.”
WTH does that even mean.

I’m liberal. I hate being told what label I should have.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Buttigieg, Biden and Klobuchar are solid liberals.

To the extent it's even possible to define "centrist" without using it as an insult, they aren't centrists. They're liberals and they represent the values of the Democratic party just as much as the so-called progressives.

[LakeArenal]

12. Yep

[betsuni]

6. Soon as I see the word centrist I stop reading because I know they don't know anything.

Unless I feel like mocking them.

[Bettie]

8. But it is OK to complain endlessly

about how terrible the "far left progressives" are?

Because that is done just as often (if not more) and usually to showers of praise.

[whathehell]

9. +1,0000.

[Baitball Blogger]

16. +1