What does a moderate Republican believe if anything, that is non-negotiable?
Interesting.
I have been marked "TROLLTIME" simply because I claim to be "moderate". And I claim to be "moderate" because I am not Christian.
I.e. I took a view that was somewhat against my party on the Schiavo matter. I say somewhat because I do not know exactly what the party view was, while I do know the view of the Christian right.
Also I took great offense here, in Illinois, when the right wing of our party rid us of contenders and brought in carpetbagger Alan Keyes. Hence I am a moderate, of the ilk of a James Thompson, Jim Edger, and various other Illinois Republicans.
Why is this offensive?
I think you are a troll.
The "moderates" have been running the GOP for years and years.
Remember Bob Michel? bobdole? Richard Lugar?
My best advice to you would be to start out on threads where you agree with the majority of freepers. Make a name for yourself and make online friends. After a while of getting to know the place, then venture out into topics where you might disagree with conservatives. As long as you stay respectful and polite, you should have no problem. I would definitely advise you to follow my advice on the "waiting period" though. It's been pretty crazy around here with the illegal immigration debates of late, and the moderators are on the lookout for trolls. I hate to see anybody banned because of false assumptions.
What is the alternative? I say that as a self identified "RINO." In the real world, politics is about coalitions. Granted, on individual issues, one can and does mix and match. I least I do. The Dems well remain unattractive to me as long as that party is controlled and funded by trial lawyers, and public employee unions, with a bevy of entitlement minded folks looking for a handout, and idealists who are not realistic about many foreign policy issues, along with its own stable of protectionists.
Political labels such as "right" and "left" and "conservative" and "moderate" and "liberal" and "radical" mean different things when applied to exactly the same views in different places.
Your self-classification as a "moderate" therefore means nothing to me as your points of views could be the polar opposites or could be identical to mine.
The fact that strong disagreement can be found in any Free Republic thread demonstrates that everyone here is cut out of a slightly different cloth.
sorta like the last time you were desperate to find a motel:no vacancy