Patters

Oh, I think those who call themselves moderate are the ones who move with the shifting winds, constantly supporting what is trendy rather than having a firm set of principles that compels them to either the right or left. I think alliance to a single party tends to show a moral backbone, though by alliance I mean most of the time. Obviously, one breaks alliances in the rare case of a conservative Democrat (e.g., Silber) v. a liberal Republican (e.g., Weld).

Nikolai

You equate moderate with shifting?* I associate moderates with careful consideration, in contrast to blind allegiance. I associate alliance with/allegiance to a single party with some dark periods in human history. It's easy to see the seeds of that thought pattern in contemporary American political discourse. People are so closed-minded these days, and unwilling to accept new ways of thinking.

I don't know if I fit the profile of a moderate because I have strong opinions, which don't happen to align cleanly with any party, but I am moderate on some issues for which clear answers either aren't available, or are outside the scope of my understanding. Because of that, I've been called a moderate. Oh well. I would say I have a pretty strong backbone. It's strong enough that I'm not going to bow to any party's way of thinking. I reserve the right to think for myself.

*EDIT - I think I figured out why you perceive moderates as shifting; because of their effect on elections. Yes, moderates do act as swing voters, which, could tell the parties something if they were willing to do a little introspection.

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We get what we deserve.

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“On a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson..they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1 sacks last season in the pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where they could have gotten the last decent receiver in Robert Ferguson and settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help any time soon.”

chicowalker

What principles do you think the Democrats or Republicans generally share?