What does it really MEAN when people label themselves as political "moderates"?

[DonCoquixote]

176. I believe there was a time

When moderation WAS a matter of virtue. The centrism I was raised in, believed in, was principle enough to grab Che Guevara and Ayn Rand by the throat and say "sorry, you do NOT get to build your utopia using the blood of children as fuel!" That sort of center would roll their eyes as both the Randist and the Marxist would talk about how they had to break eggs to make omelettes, and often, the target of their fury was the middle class, hated by marxists as "middle class" and Randists as "useless eaters."

However, I realize that term has been taken over by the "I am ashamed to be a GOP" right wing. This group includes Obama (sadly) and Clinton (who helped being them into life) and is exmeplifed by Blue Dog democrats, and folks like Joe Liberman and the "no labels" crew. The fake center used to simply be people like Arriana Huffington, who hated the GOP policy on gays and other social issues, but liked the policy that kept them rich. It was fed by "reagan" democrats who feel those "dirty hippies" ruined everything with all their leftist talk. Granted, they could write best selling books on how the rich are screwing the middle class, but they really do not talk about policies like the Tobin Tax that would put a limit on the oligarch's. Indeed, many times when the left screams about something, out come the fake centrist, like the way Hillary Clinton suported outsourcing an entire generations jobs to India! There is not virtue, no courage, or to humbly cop a riff from bvar "you get to stand for nothing!"