Tutakai is one of TMV’s favorite sites since in its always-articulate posts it makes no bones that moderates can indeed (and DO) take strong positions…and can play a role (as they have throughout American history). Here’s a key quote from its latest post (but read the whole thing):
The truth is that both parties are increasingly the puppets of their most extreme elements. While a Republican Party dominated by demogogues like Rick Santorum and corrupt hacks like Tom Delay plays simplistic “with us or against us” labelling games to suppress any hint of serious political debate and exploits moralistic social and religious dogmas to scare voters with the gay/black/Muslim boogeyman, a Democratic Party run by the unstable Howard Dean openly roots for American defeat in Iraq so as to enliven their longstanding tantrum against the hated George W. Bush. Both parties have lost sight of their philosophical roots and serious conservatives and liberals are in revolt.
It is in the nature of moderate politics to recognize some valid principles from both sides. From conservatives, we inherent a strong realism and a skepticism towards utopian projects from socialism through libertarianism. From liberals, we are inspired by a desire to redress social ills, fighting poverty and intolerance that leads to violence. Our own contribution is a strong pragmatism, the fulcrum upon which we balance the contributions from conservatives and liberals and translate them into meaningful policies that value effectiveness over ideological purity.
It’s also worth noting that even moderates are not monolithic and don’t agree on everything (we’re sure some will disagree with some assertions in the above quote). Debe leer la cosa entera…