Musings of a radical moderate?

Musings of a radical moderate?

What is a radical moderate?

Let’s start with a few definitions.

Radical: advocating for or based on thorough or complete political or social change; representing or supporting an extreme or progressive section of a political party

Moderate: a person who holds moderate views, especially in politics

Moderates tend to speak in moderation.

In our current political environment, on the other hand, the loudest voices in America are those of the extremes.

In the Republican Party, party unity has become nearly inviolable. A Republican who bucks just one of the party’s espoused principles is a “RINO,” a Republican in name only, unless that person is the president himself, in which case the party’s principles change accordingly. Yet some axioms remain largely untouchable. Lower taxes and less government are always better, the free market must remain unfettered, and loyalty to the president is demanded. More troubling, voices that once were anathema to political discourse, carrying Confederate or Nazi flags or espousing fringe theories, find defenders within the mainstream of the Republican Party.

The Democratic Party is not immune to the siren song of extremism either. Its progressive wing seeks massive changes to social programs and the laws, regardless of whether the majority of the nation supports them. Further, some on the left tend to assign malign intent to any who profess conservative or even moderate views, and consider efforts at incremental change a betrayal of minority communities or the movement itself.

Once upon a time, there existed liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Increasingly, such people have been pushed out or relegated to silence. In the Republican Party, this process is nearly complete, where few remain who are willing to challenge the new orthodoxy or speak out against the president. The Democratic Party yet retains its moderate center, but the interfamily fight with the progressive wing has weakened its national power and may eventually threaten its very existence.

For many now in politics, the acquisition and maintenance of power, and ensuring the ineffectiveness of the other side, has become the one and only goal. The original conceit of the American experiment – that the government should reflect the wishes of a majority of the governed – has become an obstacle to overcome, not a principle to live by.

Moderate voices today are on the defensive. Increasingly, to be a moderate within either political party is to be outnumbered, on the fringes, holding beliefs radically different from the powerful currents of the party’s philosophy.

Thus, I am a radical moderate.

I believe in democracy, meaning majority rule, but subject to the limitations in the US Constitution designed to protect minority groups and individuals. I believe in the power of free markets, but I also recognize their limitations, and understand that government and democratic authority has a role to play in setting the rules under which the free market operates. I believe in evidence-based decision-making, wherever it may lead. I believe in due skepticism, especially of ideas that I like. And I believe in science and expertise, but acknowledge that the people have a role in deciding how such science and expertise should be applied.

This blog will cover my occasional thoughts on the issues of the day, and how a radical moderate might approach them. I hope you find my musings of interest.