I Don’t Like Moderates
I wanted to share this quote from Jonah Goldberg. It sums up very nicely my general feelings toward those who call themselves moderates.
For certain Beltway centrists, the highest principle is to prove that you are attached to no principle. Rather, your duty is to split the difference between the “ideologues.” If one side says we need a 1,000-foot bridge to span a canyon, and the other side says we don’t need a bridge at all, the centrists will fight for a bridge that goes 500 feet and no farther, then pat themselves on the back.
I don’t have much respect for people whose only firm position is that they never take a position on anything else. Folks like that vacillate between being a wuss and a hostage-taker. We shouldn’t encourage either one.
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Category: Political Pontifications
I say I'm moderate, but I'm really more fiscally conservative and socially liberal (on certain issues.) I think I may be more of a practical Libertarian… I dunno though. I just generally want the government to leave me alone–to get their hands out of my wallet and to keep their opinions out of my house. (I can buy my own lightbulbs, thanks.)
That's not moderate, though. You actually take a position on limited government and on social issues, too. You don't insist, lacking a strong opinion, that everyone woo you. That's what moderates do.
Ha! Well done, per usual! Fortunately, I've never been called a wuss nor a hostage-taker…no fence-sitting allowed in my world view!
Kinda like the old saw: A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. We have way too many of these folks in politics, but they almost always wind up in the Republican Party. I think we need a smaller tent.
the middle is where the money's at though – the lobbyists know that the swing votes count most, so that is where they spend there $
That's what some moderates do; trouble is, there are a lot like TheSenator who call themselves moderate, but take definite positions on the issues.
Jimmie, you're making a category error here, and it's not because of the source article. (Goldberg carefully doesn't say that this behavior is characteristic of all moderates.) (By analogy, it's rather like claiming "All Muslims want to kill Americans." But when someone says, "I'm a Muslim, and I don't want to kill anyone," your response is "Then you aren't acting like a Muslim.")
Your definition of "moderate" clearly includes "lacks a strong opinion." And your definition isn't the popular one. The hint you get is when you find yourself insisting that someone has labeled himself incorrectly.