AZ: Giffords Targeted by Extremist Elements of Republican and Democratic Parties

Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was among those shot in the Tucson massacre earlier today, has been targeted by extremist elements within both the Republican and Democratic parties over the course of the last two years.  Giffords was on Sarah Palin's infamous "hit list" and a "bulls eye" was placed on her district by Markos Moulitsas, who put her name on a "target list" of Democrats who "sold out the Constitution."  It is not surprising to learn that Giffords is known as "a moderate with an independent streak." 

Open Primaries and Moderation in Politics

From the Soo Evening News:

The tendency of partisan primaries to produce candidates further to the right or left for the majority of the electorate is nothing new or unique to one or two states. As long as the candidates in general elections are determined in party primaries, party activists — who tend to be more liberal or conservative than the general population — will dominate the decision-making process. But if we let primary voters select candidates of either party (or no party at all) in one primary open to all, we would encourage more candidates to move to the center. That’s where party nominees typically try to position themselves after general elections, though those efforts often have little credibility, given their primary campaign rhetoric.

MA: Independent Seeks to Provide Voice for the Moderate Middle

From Wicked Local:

Like many of her neighbors, K.C. Winslow was fed up with politics as usual. On Beacon Hill and at the national level, she had grown tired of seeing divided parties taking it too far to the right, or too far to the left. “That leaves most of us right here in the middle,” she said. “Especially in this district, I hear that over and over again.”

Unlike many of her neighbors, Winslow decided to do something about it. A Concord resident with no political experience to speak of, Winslow is running as an Independent candidate for the 14th Middlesex District seat state Rep. Cory Atkins, a Concord Democrat,who has held the position since winning a 1999 special election.

New Contributor

As you may have noticed, there is a new contributor here at TPID, Solomon Kleinsmith.  Solomon is an independent advocate of moderate centrism and maintains the website Rise of the Center.  From the mission statement there:

A cursory view of support of the two party system over the last few decades shows a steady move away from the two parties, as they have become more controlled by narrow special interests and have moved farther away from the majority of Americans who stand in the center of the political spectrum. But it wasn’t until more recently that those who consider themselves unrepresented, or underrepresented, began to coalesce into a political force . . .

Voices of moderation are gaining a following in the political blogosphere, new thought leaders are bubbling up amongst the ranks of columnists and authors, and independent faces are showing up on television news. Perhaps the most telling that this groundswell is nearing a potential breakthrough into a full fledged movement is the increasing numbers of viable candidates running for offices, up and down the ballot, across the country.

Here at Rise of the Center, we’ll cover all of these things, show the partisan hacks that middle is anything but mushy and to encourage community among the centrist, moderate and independent thinking electorate.

Here at TPID, Solomon will be sharing posts from Rise of the Center and help keep an eye on the moderate movement.  Thanks for coming aboard, Solomon.

Modern Whigs Ask: What is a Moderate?

From the CA Modern Whig Party blog:

Some have accused moderates of a lack conviction or strong feelings.   Some have said moderate means you don’t care.   As Modern Whigs we defy this generalization.

So what IS a moderate?   Being a moderate means seeking results as more important than the means.  A moderate knows what they want to see, but does not cling to one path to get there.  A moderate feels strongly about his goals, but is willing to work with anyone who can present a realistic idea of how to get there.   A moderate will make comprimises on the methods, and will take small steps toward his goal if that is what it takes.

In addition, moderate speech is something we see all too little in politics.  It means that we can see both sides of an issue.  It does not mean we agree with both sides, but we have enough sense to know its a difference of opinion, or somtimes a difference of perception, or someone could be plain wrong.  We do no believe, in most cases, that others motivations are necessarily greed, corruption, or incompetence, for proposing an idea which opposes ours.

This is easy to write, and hard to put into words.   A couple of case examples from todays controversy can draw an excellent illustration.

The Coffee Party and Political Independence: "Independents and Moderates Beware"

The following letter was sent to in to Poli-Tea and TPID by Solomon Kleinsmith, reflecting on his experiences with the Coffee Party USA organization.  Published in full with minor edits:

For some people, the development of the new Coffee Party USA organization seemed like a godsend in response to the more extreme elements in the Tea Party movement. At first I thought that this could be the grassroots movement I'd been waiting for - one that actually included moderates independents, and actively worked across ideological divides to look for common ground, rather than partisan gain. In short, I was wrong.