What is a 'moderate' Democrat anyway?

[Hortensis]

9. According to this 538 graph, @51% of Democrats SELF-identify

as liberal, @35% as moderate, and @12% as conservative.

The most valuable takeaway from this graph could be for some that "moderate" within the Democratic Party is not conservative. We all hold a variety of views from across the spectrum depending on issues. Thus moderate Democrats average out liberal overall, just as "moderate conservatives" average conservative overall. Being socially liberal more than somewhat economically conservative is a common mix among those who self identify as moderate on the left, averaging out liberal overall, which is why they register Democrat.

The 12% conservative are the "blue dogs."



The graph would be significantly more accurate, allocating more "moderates" to "liberal" if the poll spent a lot more money testing people for actual orientation, rather then depending on a very inaccurate range of ideas about what liberal is. Most people aren't at all sure.

The left side of the graph shows what happened when Gingrich et all convinced Americans that liberal equaled radical nuts who opposed "family values," a very unrespectable, unprincipled way of being. A tragic number of naturally liberal people believed it because they knew that didn't describe them and refused to vote Democrat. The Repubs are up to it again, of course; we're all wingnut atheist socialists who hate white people and war on Christianity.

This is last year's senate, interesting because Democratic senators average significantly LESS liberal than the average Democratic voter because they must appeal to an entire state, yet look at the strong division between blue and red. These people know very well who they are and what they're for. Those who come fairly close on economic issues would be considered "moderate liberals" with a couple coming very close to conservatives, but on averaging their votes there was no overlap between red and blue and moderate liberals are strongly outnumbered by strong liberals.

Senate: