The Third Way: 'Why are Democrats affiliated with this group that wants to gut Democratic Programs?'

[RiverLover]

35. When will the media learn? Conservatives are not “centrists”! (Another article by RJE)

This pretty much points to what we've been saying here lately~

When will the media learn? Conservatives are not “centrists”!
From Chris Christie to Third Way, the political class mislabels the political center. Here's why it's so dangerous
R.J. Eskow 12/13/13

....The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on “a rift between centrists and leftists in the Democratic Party” and lamented that this prevented stronger steps to reduce the deficit. The Star Tribune even included a quote from the co-chair of Third Way, which it described as “a centrist think tank.”

Third Way was in the news last week too, in a story that had media outlets tossing out the “C” word like candy.

“Elizabeth Warren Fires Back at Centrist Dems on Social Security,” read the headline in liberal Mother Jones. “Coalition of Liberals Strikes Back at Criticism From Centrist Democrats,” said the headline in the New York Times. “Elizabeth Warren and Centrist Democrats Are Already at War,” read New York magazine’s header.

...The Democratic Party-friendly Talking Points Memo website wrote of “centrist group Third Way.” The Washington Post wrote that “Centrist Democratic think tank Third Way came under fire from some liberals.”

If we are to live in a world where words have meaning, they really should stop doing that.

The generally accepted definition of “centrism,” found in the Free Dictionary and elsewhere, is “The political philosophy of avoiding the extremes of right and left by taking a moderate position.” Similarly, a “centrist” is defined as “one who takes a position in the political center.”

The polling data is clear: If anybody should be called a “centrist” in last week’s conflict, it’s Elizabeth Warren and those who agree with her.

...A 2012 Angus Reid Public Opinion poll showed that the number of Americans who believed this country should “renegotiate” or “leave” the North American Free Trade Agreement outnumbered those who felt otherwise by nearly 4-to-1. That was the opinion of most Republicans, Democrats and independents. In a related finding, 60 percent of those polled by the Gallup organization earlier this year said that they would be willing to pay more for products purchased in the United States.

By contrast, Third Way is pushing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade deal that is even more aggressive than NAFTA.

How about taxation? A recent poll by Americans for Tax Fairness showed that 79 percent of respondents favored closing tax loopholes for corporations, 71 percent favored a 30 percent minimum tax rate for millionaires, and 69 percent supported ending the carried-interest loophole, which has kept tax rates low for hedge funders.

In last week’s Op-Ed, Third Way’s founders blithely dismissed all of the above as “fantasy.”

The Third Way outburst against Sen. Warren was triggered by her statement of support for Sen. Tom Harkin’s bill to increase Social Security benefits. There, too, Third Way’s opinions diverge sharply from those of the mainstream. A poll by the National Academy for Social Insurance found that “Fully 74% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats agree that ‘it is critical to preserve Social Security even if it means increasing Social Security taxes paid by working Americans.’”...

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/13/when_will_the_media_learn_conservatives_are_not_centrists/

So, Third Way is Far Right (rethug), and WE are the centrists! ha! How the media manipulates labels & our thinking...