Tags: centrist, GOP, Moderate Republicans, republican, Republican Party, Republicans
E.D. Kain’s latest post which is itself a retort of David Frum’s post on the need for moderates in the GOP to become active again misreads what moderate Republicans are all about. In some cases it seems like Kain confuses “centrism” and “moderation” to mean a Republican that aims toward a bland middle of the road view. However, history shows us that Moderate Republicans are a real faction in the history of the GOP with real values and positions various issues from civil rights to the environment. One only has to read some of the Geoffrey Kabaservice’s wonderful profiles on forgotten Moderate Republicans like Thomas Dewey, Thomas Curtis, and Arthur Larson to know that moderates in the GOP were anything but milquetoast.
I don’t think Frum was trying to lump everyone that is not in agreement with the current GOP agenda under the banner of moderate. Instead, he was calling on those specific Republicans who share the moderate Republican heritage to claim it once again and take the lead in the affairs of the party.
Of course there are many factions in the GOP and the wider conservative movement and all are important. But Frum’s call to moderate Republicans was a specific shout out to a specific community to stand up and get involved again in your party. It’s a call that all principled moderates in the GOP should listen to.
I think where the ‘bland’ charge comes from is the notion that moderates are fairly reactionary. They figure out where the Center is, tack a few degress to the Right and there’s the moderate position. I would like to see what a progressive moderate agenda would look like. One that really defines the moderate position independent of the two more well-known bookends of American political thought.
Mike-
“Progressive moderate”? That is sort of an oxymoron when discussing a moderate Republican isn’t it? Progressive by definition is activist and even if a Republican is a moderate (which I am) he still falls under the conservative banner. I recommend Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg as an interesting look into the history of progressivism.
To your larger point, when faced with a very muscular form of liberalism as the current administration represents, sometimes reactionary measures are best. If you are looking for a set of guiding principles for moderates I recommend the Main Street Republicans website- solid centrist group.
Steve – you’re making the assumption that all moderates are active or forward-thinking – is that really true? From my viewpoint about 75% of those who call themselves moderates are nothing more than socially liberal Republicans. When you drill down on non-social issues like national defense or fiscal policy, they are as conservative as the next guy. So if you are going to insist on a sub-label for yourselves, why not use one that is more accurate?
For those that are consistently ‘moderate’ across the board (somewhere between the Center and the mainstream Right) is there really that much ground there? I’ve really never seen a ‘moderate’ agenda fleshed out as anything other than a rough triangulation between the existing positions of the Right and Left.