So now "Moderate" is a dirty word.

[edhopper]

We know the wingnuts use the word "Liberal" as a pejorative. But know it seems that they angrily denounce the idea of any "Moderate" for a nominee. Only a true Arch-Conservative like Alito gets their support.
Will America wake up to how radical this Administration and the Republican Party is?

[electropop]

1. We need to use the "F-word" whenever referring to these nutjobs:

Fascist.

[Iris]

2. I like the R word - "Regressive"

[Walt Starr]

3. Welcome to the club, moderates

How does it feel to be marginalized in your own country by the guys you voted for?

[kenny blankenship]

4. We need to make this another Schiavo moment.

This jerk has an apalling record on the individual right to one's own body. Democrats have therefore every right to demand he explain what he would do and wouldn't do when presented with a case challenging Roe v. Wade. If he plays coy and "refuses to speculate", filibuster his nomination.
If the Fascists go "nukulur"--that's GREAT! America will remember that the GOP JUST HAD TO HAVE this nutjob on the Supreme Court and everyone's essential rights suffered, women's in particular, because of it.

THEY will have set the precedent and when we toss them out of power, Democrats will then be free to pack the court with qualified non-extremists to outvote freaks like Alito and Roberts and their freakshow predecessors on the bench, and WE'LL go nuclear on the 'thuglicans anytime they complain about it.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. It seems like moderate is a dirty word on DU too.

I see moderate Dems ripped to shreds every day here. The whole country has turned into ideologues.

[calico1]

11. I agree. You're not a real Democrat if you are not

totally on the far left. If you call yourself a Moderate then you must really be Republican! :eyes:

[Arkansas Granny]

13. It seems like the fight is between the far right and the far left. The

people in the middle are largely ignored or vilified. There seems to be no room for moderate views on issues. The entire argument seems to revolve around the extremes. This administration has used this polarization of views to "energize the base" and further divide us.

Nobody gets everything they want just the way they like it. It doesn't work that way in any healthy relationship, whether it be personal, business or political. A reasoned debate on issues with some compromise from both sides would very likely go a long way in healing the divide in this country.

Edited for spelling.

[Nikki Stone 1]

14. You make good points here

We are playing into that polarization?

[Arkansas Granny]

15. I don't know if it's so much that we are playing into it or if it is

being forced upon us. The right wing attacks liberals (and moderates) in such a way as to invite a defense. They frame the issues so narrowly, e.g. black or white, with us or against us, that only a small majority can completely accept it. They try to validate their positions by invoking God, or the founding fathers. If anyone dares to dissent they are labeled as un-American, un-Godly or unpatriotic. It's a lot like some abusive relationships I've seen.

[Nikki Stone 1]

19. It does have the feel of a bullying relationship.

I am still not sure what would be best to do. If the Dems cave, they are still the only option in town. (The Greens are not strong enough yet). If they fight and shut down Congress, they might be playing right into Rethug hands.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. And there you have it. It takes more than one side to have a true

debate. The right wing is not interested in being reasonable, only in getting their way. They don't want to talk about the issues, they only want to preach their doctrine. The only way for Democrats to defend themselves is to fight back and that just adds fuel to the flame.

It is time for the moderate Senators and Representatives in both parties to mute or silence the extremes and get the discussion back to a civilized process where the majority can also be heard.

[FreedomAngel82]

24. That's true too

I think that's why the democrats haven't closed down the government yet. They will be painted as obstructionists etc. Too bad someone couldn't do a poll and see people's reactions.

[chelsea0011]

6. And I want to see how Moderate the Republican Moderates really are

with this nominee. There is no way Snowe or Collins should be onboard with Alito if they truly want to be called Moderate.

[Skidmore]

7. We need to reclaim the word "Liberal" and

espouse the ideology of liberals, and quit trying to be like them. What is it with the Dems that they think tacking to the right is going to get them anything but capsized?

[edhopper]

8. I do actually believe

there are still moderate Republicans in the Government. And I blame them more than anyone for allowing their Party to be overtaken by the Radical Right. That not a single one of them has opposed anything this criminal Administration has perpetrated is the real shame.

[BurtWorm]

18. This is really a golden opportunity to smash the right wing.

They want to "come out" and dance in the open? How much would they enjoy the sunshine if the left and middle started bombarding them the way liberals were bombarded in the 1980s and 1990s? They won't care, it's true, but the Republicans would start to get very uncomfortable if the Democrats put up a relentless effort against the takeover of moderate America by right-wing extremists. Left McCarthyism wouldn't be called for, just a persistent warning to the middle that the wingers want to take over. It's true, too.

[bryant69]

9. Ideologues denounce any deviation from the right path

That's the difference between me and an ideologue. I think i'm probably right; but i admit that i could be wrong. An ideologue knows he's right and knows that he's not wrong.

So consider Free Speech. Free speech is a positive good to me, because it allows me to refine my understandings and arguments, and possibly to convince me that I am wrong (when I am wrong). So free speech, even with people who disagree with me, is a good thing.

To an ideologue free speech has exactly one value; the opportunity to convert people to the right way of thinking.

There are ideologues on both the left and the right, incidentally.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[DemGirl7]

10. I want to see a REAL "moderate" nominee

but those people don't exist in real life anymore, on the republican side.

[zbdent]

12. Today's liberal was yesterday's moderate

at least, in the perception provided by the MSM . . .

[BurtWorm]

16. Nominated

I admit that "moderate" has been a dirty word in my vocabulary, but that's because too often it means "accommodationist" and "collaborator" among Democrats. But this is an excellent way for Democrats to frame this debate. Keep forcing the right to admit that they're not looking for a centrist, moderate jurist. They're looking for a right-winged ideologue. This could be used to drive a wedge into the heart of Red State America.

[musette_sf]

17. watching "700 Club" the other night

(one part Recreational Christianity, one part Know Thine Enemy), the alleged "news" part of the show went on and on about all the evil things the "Centrists" want to do to Jesusland aka the US.

"Moderate" and "Centrist" now mean "anything to the left of Dobson".

[porphyrian]

20. "Moderate" describes the middle third.

This group is frustrating to liberals and conservatives because they only support some of the bases' beliefs and cross camps for others. On top of that, the true designation of "moderate" has been blurred by two decades of pulling to the right. Thus, most people who consider themselves "moderate" are likely more conservative than liberal. That said, the neocons are extreme right-wingers, and are trying to appeal to their extremist base now that their hold on the government is seriously in danger. Thus, they are attacking "moderates."

[OneBlueSky]

22. Moderation, in the pursuit of Liberty, is no vice! . . .

no . . . wait . . . I think I got that wrong . . . :shrug:

[FreedomAngel82]

23. I think people are waking up

Those in the republican party who aren't religious or if they are they aren't extreme. This is a good time to reach out to those people who don't like the government invading your privacy and mention the Terri Schavio ordeal.

[Cults4Bush]

25. Define moderates of today and moderates of 4 or 5 years ago.

Sorry my nose isn't going to bleed for them anymore because they sure as hell didn't bleed for the Liberals. If moderate is a dirty word all I can say is "hey moderates get ready for physical threats to your being, family and property... you know, the kind of shit you said we were just being over reactive wingnuts about"... Liberals have been taking the short end of the stick so far up our asses we play baseball whenever we fart.

Get out there and fight them on it, maybe you could frame yourselves as "The New Middle" as thats what you are. Moderates today stand not where the moderates of just a few short years ago did. Bahh... just ignore me... after all Im a leftwing Liberal, you always have (except for fundraising and votes).

[SoCalDem]

26. Jesus Lovers v Jesus Haters...(that's the goal here)

Good v Evil

In the theocracy they are setting up, there will be no gray area.. (see Taliban for reference)