Posted on 02/12/2020 7:16:58 AM PST by Kaslin
On Sunday, The Washington Post editorial page led with a dramatic and rarely uttered fact check. The headline was "There Are No 'Centrists': The Democratic primary race is not a choice between change and the status quo."
The article began by taking on an "unchecked assumption" that "the candidates are fighting an ideological war between 'left' and 'center,'" saying that the narrative "is false, and hardly benign." It's now unfair to call the opponents of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren "moderates" when, in fact, all the candidates "have put forward ambitious, progressive platforms for reducing inequality and promoting access to health and education."
The Post insisted, "every major Democratic candidate is running on an agenda to the left of Mr. Obama's." In this new leftist paradigm, former President Barack Obama is now on the conservative side, even though Newsweek greeted his ascension in 2009 with a cover story headlined "We Are All Socialists Now."
This was a candid and accurate admission by The Post. The same notion erupted on National Public Radio, of all places, this week the night before the New Hampshire primary. Reporter Scott Detrow acknowledged that Sanders is proposing a "fundamental reordering" of the government but said that doesn't mean Sanders' opponents are centrists.
"I think this is the point in the conversation where we have to really stress that the moderate versus progressive divide is very relative," said Detrow. "Every single one of these candidates -- almost every single one of these candidates has put together a platform that is far more progressive than what the Obama administration was able to accomplish."
NPR anchor Ari Shapiro summed up Detrow's statement: "So everything's moved to the left." Exactly.
Detrow added: "Even though Bernie Sanders did not get the Democratic nomination in 2016, the party as a whole has embraced a lot of his platform -- $15 minimum wage and health care. Even though there's this conversation about 'Medicare for All' or a public option, the premise of the conversation is giving everybody health care through a government-run program."
Despite this shocking admission, the NPR segment's online headline still said, "Divide Between Moderate and Progressive Democrats Comes to Fore in New Hampshire."
These positions are hardly the only ones where the Democratic field toes an extreme line. The candidates are uniformly, radically in favor of abortion on demand with taxpayer funding. They are all in favor of the Equality Act, which would crush religious liberty in an effort to end "discrimination" against the "LGBTQ community." They all want to dramatically ease up on enforcing the borders and provide illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded health care.
On the international front, they are all eager to expand the federal government in a big crusade against the phantom menace called "climate change." They all wish we were still participating in a phony nuclear agreement with Iran, and they all think it was wrong for President Donald Trump to take out Iranian terrorist mastermind Qassem Soleimani.
Despite all this, lazy journalists often stick to this false "moderate" terminology on the campaign trail. ABC anchor David Muir asked, "Could Iowa be a make-or-break moment for moderates Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, who many believe need a strong showing here in Iowa tonight to keep going?" NBC's Chuck Todd announced, "Bernie Sanders won the progressive primary there in Iowa, and Pete Buttigieg won the moderate one."
CBS morning host Anthony Mason expressed concern to Joe Biden, saying, "Mr. Vice President, you appear to be bleeding support from moderates." This kind of journalism is why the television networks are bleeding support from the American people.
Have all the “people of color” dropped out? Seems the women are about to start dropping out. Then the Dems can have their old rich white guy to vote for.
Even Duaval Patrick could see the writing on the wall.
If they replaced the false terms “moderate” and “centrist” with the far more honest “hard core leftist,” “socialist,” or “communist,” their chances would be even worse than they are.
Calling Buttigieg a “centrist” or “moderate” is a sign of an uneducated journalist who has no interest in discovering the truth...or is complicit in the campaign to get him elected.
The problem is that there is a real pro-American centrist - Trump. He landed on both parties like an extraterrestrial impact and the tidal wave is consuming both parties. The republicans are more or less goat-roped into going along because the base will nuke all of them if they whimper. The democrats are looking for an alternative to Trump which is by definition anti-American and not coincidentally marxist.
They got this way through their own stupidity - both sides - thinking global peace and happiness run from Brussels was a thing. Turns out it isn't.
It illustrates the constant leftward drift of the Rats. In 1993 we all thought Bill Clinton was a hard-core leftist. In 2009 he looked like a reasonable centrist compared to The Won. Now in 2020, there’s no way in hell the current Democratic Party would even dream of nominating Slick Willie, he’s way too far to the right, given what he did with things like welfare reform.
}:-)4
Centrist is completely undefined. I wonder, what limitations do all of the “centrist” feel there should be on a woman’s “right to choose”? Do any of the “centrist” believe that anything Trump did with the economy shouldn’t be undone? Do the “centrist want to lower or raise people’s taxes? Centrist to them is, I want Medicare for all who want it instead of Medicare for all. I patiently await a firm definition of centrist...
Good comparison of national positions on key issues. Trump would be at the midpoint of a normal distribution, Klobitchar at about -1 sigma on the left, everyone else -3 sigma or beyond.
I am not Brent Bozell, or Tim Graham. I am Kaslin. I copied the op-ed written by Brent Bozell, So don't tell me what I know or not know. That is irrelevant
Not attacking you, Kaslin. I appreciate your efforts to bring us the breadth of so-called political “thought” from around the internet. I am attacking you the authors of this piece or those who think that somehow what is missing is a centrist candidate who by definition isn’t Trump and will save us from Trump. It’s a unicorn flying in formation with pigs and streaming rainbows.
You are sort of like the guy in the parade. You don’t lead the band or ride the horse, nor are you the horse itself. You are just trying to shovel all the detritus into a pile so we can see if there is anything to see in all the persiflage and bloviating. Don’t take it personally if when we vent on “you” we are directing it at whoever thinks the way the author[s] of the article is thinking and not you Kaslin the curator of precious gems from the internet.
The Democrat electorate has many moderates and thus the candidate they vote for is labeled “moderate” no matter what their policy positions are. These will be stay home or Trump voters come the General Election IMO.
That's your opinion. My opinion is that the 33% that call themselves Democrats are also devout leftists. They just hide it.
Correct, the Democrat race is between Socialists and Communists.
I've still never heard a convincing description of any difference between the two ...
That is true but still leaves two thirds. I guess one's view (opinion) is also age adjusted. There are tons of "Boomers" who all their lives voted Democrat but who would never vote for the current slate of candidates except for maybe Joe. They would see Joe about like how they saw Hillary which was safe when it came to Defense, the Economy, etc. Lucky for us the Democrat party is all about abandoning those voters saying "OK Boomer" while assuring themselves they know best.
How about this gem from Ayn Rand?
“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.”
“Foreign Policy Drains U.S. of Main Weapon,”
The Los Angeles times, Sept. 9, 1962, G2
http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/socialism.html
Eleanor Roosevelt thought that Communists were just liberals in a hurry.
Among the leaders are the commie, the queer and the corrupt. RAT pride!
Remember, compromising with bad policy is like adding some sewage to your drinking water.
It’s only a little bit and it strengthens the immune system. You’ll be a better person for it.
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