What is a Democratic Moderate?

[Check12]

Ok, I have some questions here about what constitutes moderate democratic policy these days.

Does a democratic moderate think it is kind of OK to take school lunches from poor children?
Does a democratic moderate agree that it is kind of OK to torture innocent foreign nationals in secret prisons?
Does a democratic moderate condone at least some tax cuts for 0.1% of the richest people in this country at a time of war?
Does a democratic moderate think lying about WMD and Iraq-911 connections are at least somewhat justified?
Does a democratic moderate think taking money from lobbyists for legislative favors is democratic?
Does a democratic moderate think paid propaganda is sometimes justified in our country?
Does a democratic moderate not care so much about ruining careers of veteran CIA under cover assets?

My point here is at this point there is no such thing as a moderate democrat with respect to republicans.

You are with us or you are against us, that is the republican credo. There will be no compromise, no deals, no moderation period.

[bbinacan]

1. A DINO n/t

[wyldwolf]

6. name me a Democrat that isn't a DINO

[...of J.Temperance]

14. 'Um......Dennis Kucinich...Cynthia McKinney et al

Those are the type of people that they consider PROPER Democrats...you know, the sort that could NEVER in a million years win something like a Presidential Election.

[MrBenchley]

26. I had somebody a couple weeks ago name a guy who WASN'T a Democrat

Bernie Sanders as his ideal of what a Democrat should be. All the rest of the party were wrong, and only Bernie was a "true Democrat"--or would be if he was one.

so I guess that meant there were no true Democrats at all. Somehow I carried on.

[Imagine My Surprise]

2. At this point, a democratic moderate would be one who...

supports the war in Iraq and who believes a law should be made to keep flags from being burned. Sound familiar?

[...of J.Temperance]

18. That's utter horsecrap

I'm a moderate Democrat and I've NEVER supported the war in Iraq, I've been against whats happening from the beginning.

Any reasonable, compassionate and fair-minded human being is AGAINST whats happening in Iraq.

[stray cat]

3. A strong but intelligent defense and working with the world

instead of against it. Fiscal responsibility, deficit reduction. Of course that makes Russ Feingold and John Edwards moderates as well as many others.

[confludemocrat]

4. They wail about "eating our own" while doing that themselves in worse way

and demanding that critics of the fainthearted Dems be purged or shunned.

[Writer]

5. One cannot define a "moderate."

Hence that would completely refute the meaning of the word "moderate." The definition is entirely subjective.

[Imagine My Surprise]

8. Excellent answer! That's why I said "at this point"

...because a so-called democratic moderate in 2005 would not be the same as 20 years ago.

[Writer]

10. Nor would one moderate be like the other.

Some are pro-gun control, while others are not. Some believe in no restrictions on abortion, while others support parental consent. The list goes on. It is a completely subjective exercise.

[Totally Committed]

7. Very good post....

"there is no such thing as a moderate democrat with respect to republicans."

Thank you.

TC

[chapel hill dem]

36. Around here, a moderate is a Repub who is pro-choice, & they vote Dem. n/t

[MrBenchley]

9. Irony is a WONDERFUL thing.

"You are with us or you are against us, that is the republican credo."
Says a guy who started a thread to demonize moderate Democrats ....

[Drum]

11. (chuckle!) nt

[Check12]

12. Demonize?

Please tell me where that occured in my post.
I was simply asking a series of questions here.
Is it ironic that you should be with or against liberal democrats?

[MrBenchley]

20. Yup, just a few innocent questions...in a pig's eye.

You know, if you really don't have an idea who moderate Americans are and what they stand for or want, you're no fucking help at all, are you?

[Check12]

23. I am so sorry Senator Lieberman, you are right after all nt

[MrBenchley]

27. Well, you ARE sorry, I'll give you that.

[...of J.Temperance]

15. Irony...since January 20th 2001, irony has been lost on many n/t

[MrBenchley]

19. So true....

Hey, guess who this moderate Democrat is...Business Week called him a Rockefeller Republican and praised the special deals he gave IBM; and today he told CNN "we have to win" the war and called for a bipartisan deal with Bush....

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_32/b3845084.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/08/democrats.iraq/

No doubt it's one of those evil DLCbots trying to stab saintly Howard Dean in the back...because they're afraid he speaks for us teens!

[...of J.Temperance]

25. Yes, Howard Dean

Amazing isn't it? "A pragmatic moderate" said Business Week.

[MrBenchley]

30. Dean was too conservative for many people's taste

and he finished no better than third in every primary but his home state of Vermont's....

Let's share a bit more of this Business Week article with the rest of the class...

"When Canada's Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. wanted to build a new manufacturing plant on 700 acres of Vermont farmland in the mid-'90s, for instance, Dean greased the wheels. Husky obtained the necessary permits in near-record time. "He was very hands-on," says an appreciative Dirk Schlimm, the Husky executive in charge of the project.
And when environmentalists tried to limit expansion of snowmaking at ski resorts, "Dean had to show his true colors, and he did -- by insisting on a solution that allowed expanding snowmaking," says Stenger. IBM, by far the state's largest private employer, says it got kid-gloves treatment."

Guess that means Howard Dean thinks lying about WMD and Iraq-911 connections are at least somewhat justified...remember, no compromise, no deals, no moderation period. (snicker)

[...of J.Temperance]

13. I find this thread offensive...is it designed specifically as flamebait?

I'm a moderate Democrat...and I DO NOT SUPPORT OR AGREE WITH ANY OF THOSE EXAMPLES THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO GIVE to say that what YOU say a moderate Democrat is "supposed" to support.

I'm a Centrist Democrat, which means that I'm a moderate Democrat.

A moderate Democrat is a Democrat that's NOT a raging left-winger or a raging right-winger. As I'm not a raging left-winger or a raging right-wing...therefore I'm a moderate.

A moderate Democrat is someone who is Liberal on the MAJORITY of social issues and who is conservative with a small "c" on a range of economic issues.

I guarantee that 98% of moderate Democrats are 100% against EVERY example that you've given in your original post.

[Check12]

16. Yes, I agree but how do you define moderate?

That is my point to be closer to the republican point of view? and how far on that scale?
I apologize if you are offended that was not my intent. I guess my point needed to be more clearly defined.
How can one be moderate with respect to corruption, etc..

This is a republican bash not a democratic one.

[...of J.Temperance]

22. Well

Okay, I must have misinterpreted your opening statement...it's not MY fault I'm stupid ;)

A moderate is someone who avoids either of the extremes. The Center ground in politics is the Mainstream ground in politics. I think that the majority of the public are in the Center and I think that they want politicians and a government that reflects this.

Being a moderate is not in the slightest about being closer to the Republican view!

The Republican view as we know is now the Extremist view...there are some Rockefeller Republicans that our party could work with, UNDER DIFFERENT circumstances than we have today.

The Bush Inc. Republican Party, I think our politicians should just in public refer to them as "Extremists" because that's what they are.

No, you cannot be moderate about corruption, just like you cannot be moderate about tax cuts for the very wealthy. Proper moderates are AGAINST corruption and proper moderates are AGAINST tax cuts for the very wealthy.

[Solon]

17. Being an economic conservative makes you for those things by...

default, especially when using code words like "market-based solutions" and other BS half-cocked solutions, which are worse than no solution at all.

[MrBenchley]

24. Wow...what a silly post.

Yes, clearly if you're in favor of tax breaks for businesses that implement pollution controls ...you're for torturing "innocent foreign nationals in secret prisons" and "ruining careers of veteran CIA under cover assets" by default.

Because of course, any attempt to get a bipartisan bill drafted in Congress to cut pollution is verboten. Zere must be no compromise, no deals, no moderation period! Sieg Heil!

[Check12]

28. What is silly about a discussion of what it is to be moderate

with respect to republicans. I can see that the 'with respect to' was not clearly defined enough.

Clearly a moderate is not definable, there is my error.

[MrBenchley]

31. Guess.

[Solon]

33. For the economic ones, yes...

Sometimes a compromise is no solution at all, for example, these "clean air" tax credits AWARDS polluters at being good at bargaining with other polluters to keep their pollution control and cost at a minimum. I would hate to be living downwind of any coal fired plants with such "controls" in place. Especially considering the birth defects that will result! Another example compromise would be tax credits for health care, stupid idea and unimplementable for many. Many people don't pay enough in taxes to have a tax break that is large enough to cover health care expenses, and second, many people are unemployed, underemployed, and it wouldn't help them a bit.

[MrBenchley]

35. I guess your solution to problems is to pout and posture

Enjoy the tantrum, kid.

[MrBenchley]

21. In order for it to be flamebait it would have to be inflammatory

It's way too lame for that.

[nickshepDEM]

29. Im with you on all of that. But Im still a moderate. Still a democrat.

Just dont walk the line 100% of the time.

[chaulieu]

32. Deleted response.

Deleted response.

[Check12]

34. Thank You!

That is precisely the point I was trying to make.
Democrats are so sensitive, I think I hurt some feelings out there.

[kliljedahl]

37. Missed the post you were responding to

doesn't matter, we need to wake some people up. Centrist/moderate will go nowhere fast as it hs for the last few years. Serious opposition needs to be proposed.



Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Usrename]

38. I guess a moderate would actively help them cover up the crimes.

That seems to be the position of a couple of your detractors here. Try to flame H. Dean to cover up the crimes of the ones they are defending. Bush vomits, Lieberman licks it up. I think some posters here might actually respect him for being so tidy. But we know he is a traitor, pure and simple.

We can never all agree on what America should be, so why not a fascist regime? It seems to be as good as any other to at least two posters in this thread. Hmm.. maybe moderate means willing to accept anything, no matter how unjust it is, rather than fighting to do the right thing. Just as long as your on the winning side.

There are crystal clear reasons to resist the neoconservative movement that is treatening to destroy the world, and if some folks want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that only left wing loonies see the danger, well, they are of no use to our cause. They should be wakened gently.

And for the traitors...

Heads on pikes!!!

[KG]

39. do moderates really believe in anything? that's the question that

springs to my mind.

appearently not is the conclusion i've come to.

[meow2u3]

40. In my neck of the woods, a moderate is a dem who's pro-life

Liberal on most economic issues, small-c conservative on most social issues.