https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5...-moderate?rl=1
Progressive Democrats seek to purge the term 'moderate'
By Hanna Trudo - 09/29/21 06:00 AM EDT
Progressives are imploring fellow Democrats to stop using the term “moderate” to describe some lawmakers in their party, arguing it inaccurately labels those holding up President Biden’s agenda as merely staking out a middle-ground approach.
The rhetorical pressure campaign is escalating over what liberals see as Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema’s (D-Ariz.) lack of cooperation with their favored approach to passing social and physical infrastructure legislation simultaneously.
That reluctance has prompted some on the left to cast the duo as intraparty obstructionists with a right-of-center posture on many top priorities. One House Democrat went so far as to say the term is causing “grave harm” to the discourse.
“Referring to the small handful of conservative Democrats working to block the president’s agenda as ‘moderates’ does grave harm to the English language and unfairly maligns my colleagues who are actually moderate yet by and large understand the stakes of this historic moment,” first-term Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) told The Hill on Tuesday.
“Moderates and progressives are united in our commitment to passing President Biden’s agenda and delivering for the American people,” he said. “Anyone trying to obstruct that agenda is, at best, behaving like a Republican.”
Liberal lawmakers and activists are becoming more unified in their attempt to redefine the language on their terms, hoping that the public will see the outliers as more on the conservative side of the party, rather than in the middle of it.
The language debate underscores growing tensions between progressives and centrists on Capitol Hill, with Biden attempting to appeal to both sides.
Anger over the terminology comes after months of negotiations on whether Democrats will ultimately pass both bills together and provide the party with a major victory heading into a midterm election year.
In the Senate, Manchin and Sinema have said Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget package, which would take effect over a decade, is too high, while a group of 10 Democratic senators support House progressives’ demands that reconciliation must pass alongside a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Biden met with both Manchin and Sinema on Tuesday.
Progressives, meanwhile, refused to waver on their long-standing pledge to “hold the line,” as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) put it, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed to move forward with a Thursday vote. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) encouraged House caucus members to vote down the bill in a tweet.
While the debate over who could practically tank Biden’s agenda is ongoing, progressives are turning up the fire by comparing their most centrist colleagues to Republicans.
And although those who consider the term “moderate” to miss the mark, few have decided on a replacement word for Democrats who lean to the right on the ideological spectrum.
Many prefer the phrase “corporate Democrats” — which holds a broadly negative connotation across the party — to reflect the decision among some to accept campaign donations from corporations and other traditional funding avenues.
On Monday, Sinema drew ire from progressives after a report in The New York Times showcased her plans to accept money from a series of organizations working against Biden’s budget plan.
“I don’t consider these people moderates,” said progressive strategist Jonathan Tasini. “I consider them corporatist mouthpieces.”
Others like to say “right-wing Democrats,” in contrast to the “left-wing Democrats” descriptor commonly used for progressives in Congress.
“What has happened is that there are a few people — I don’t like to call them ‘moderates,’ they’re a conservative fringe of the Democratic Party. They think we’re still living in the 1990s,” said Jeff Weaver, who served as Sanders’s campaign manager for his 2016 presidential bid.
“The party has moved drastically away from them, not just in the Congress but among rank-and-file Democrats. They’re acting like this is the 1990s, and it’s not,” he said.
The Democratic debate about descriptors is not entirely new.
In the past, many Democrats have rejected being called “liberals” for its negative use by the GOP during the Obama administration. The term caught on even more so in the Trump era, when Republicans often referred to members of the opposing party by that nickname, with slogans like “own the libs” and “liberal tears” being popularized on the right.
The word moderate is also taboo among many activists who consider it effectively a catch-all for Democrats who may not ascribe to a uniform left-wing ideology filled with purity tests. Sanders, a democratic socialist, does not use the term.
It has, however, taken on a more prominent place in the mainstream media landscape.
Last month, progressive MSNBC talk show host Mehdi Hasan showed the dictionary definition during an on-air segment and rebutted certain House members’ adherence to it. He later followed up in a Twitter thread, calling the term “heavily loaded and very ideological.”
“I think what makes sense is to describe the Democrats with respect to their own party,” said Ezra Levin, founder of the activist group Indivisible. “Are they progressive Democrats, are they centrist Democrats, are they conservative Democrats? If you’re looking at Democrats who are on the right wing of their party, it’s bizarre to call them moderates or centrists.”
“We’re just looking for some consistency here,” he said.
The attempted shift has enthused some Democrats more than others.
Observing the friction, some centrists have condemned progressives for engaging in what they say amounts to a weightless critique over jargon at a critical time. One of the strongest criticisms comes from Third Way, a leading Democratic think tank that helped outline the vision of a modern moderate movement within the party.
“This is absurd name-policing,” said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of the group. “There’s a huge range of viewpoints among people who call themselves ‘moderates’ or ‘progressives’ or ‘Democrats.’ The Progressive Caucus doesn’t get to decide who is entitled to use those descriptors.”
Bennett’s position is rooted in recent success. Biden saw the benefits of centrism during some of the most trying times in the Democratic presidential primary, when advisers insisted that he maintain a moderate style even when the majority of his rivals moved leftward.
In doing so, he occupied the center lane to himself, ultimately proving that general election voters in swing states were indeed seeking policy solutions that fell in the middle, rather than to the left.
“When major leaders on the left have done or said things that were pretty conservative, like voting to immunize the gun industry or against comprehensive immigration reform, we didn’t say they had forfeited the right to call themselves progressives,” Bennett said. “That’s not our call, and this isn’t theirs.”
Niall Stanage contributed.
- dilbert firestorm
- 09-30-2021, 11:55 AM
- bambino
- 09-30-2021, 12:05 PM
Fuckem all.
- rexdutchman
- 09-30-2021, 01:04 PM
Term LIMITS , Hmm
- bambino
- 09-30-2021, 05:10 PM
- eccieuser9500
- 10-01-2021, 09:56 AM
Joe Biden's Agenda Uncertain After Progressives Force Delay on Infrastructure Vote
https://time.com/6103262/progressive...tructure-vote/
The move illuminated how the newly powerful progressive movement can shape the way Biden’s agenda moves through Congress, with the power to delay or even block some moderate priorities. The progressive movement has been building in influence and organizing capacity since 2016, when Sanders’ insurgent presidential campaign breathed new life into the grassroots left. The progressive caucus has frequently threatened to withhold votes over ideological differences with more moderate Democrats, but usually failed to actually stop a major agenda item. Now, the once-fledgling progressive wing of the Democratic party has become a political force strong enough to resist the will of moderates and its own party’s leaders.
Independent In Name Purely.
- Strokey_McDingDong
- 10-01-2021, 11:02 AM
They're basically all Dinos. I'm not sure what democratic values are except censoring free speech, government overreach, making shit illegal, mandates, passing gigantic bills, misgendering laws and abortion.
It sounds like a far right extremist to me.
It sounds like a far right extremist to me.
- eccieuser9500
- 10-01-2021, 09:15 PM
They're basically all Dinos. I'm not sure what democratic values are except censoring free speech, government overreach, making shit illegal, mandates, passing gigantic bills, misgendering laws and abortion.
It sounds like a far right extremist to me. Originally Posted by Strokey_McDingDong
You just don't understand. Understandable.
Not censorship, but voicing the concerns of the downtrodden. Government responsibility to the people. Making shit LEGAL! POLICIES!
What the fuck is a gigantic bill? Other than the tab at the bar I'm at.
What does your last part, bitching comment, mean?
It's not even close to far right. Barely left of center.
- Strokey_McDingDong
- 10-01-2021, 09:37 PM
Censorship like selectively banning and covering up media. Government overreach like Joe Biden forcing citizens to bend to his will. Making shit illegal and creating more laws like banning guns and making it a petty crime to misgender some wacko. More mandates like mask and vaccine mandates, vaccine cards and lockdowns. Gigantic bills like whatever stupid shit they passed during the pandemic and are trying to pass now. Killing babies.
That all sounds extremist and authoritarian to me, with the exception of killing babies.
That all sounds extremist and authoritarian to me, with the exception of killing babies.
- eccieuser9500
- 10-01-2021, 09:42 PM
Censorship like selectively banning and covering up media. Government overreach like Joe Biden forcing citizens to bend to his will. Making shit illegal and creating more laws like banning guns and making it a petty crime to misgender some wacko. More mandates like mask and vaccine mandates, vaccine cards and lockdowns. Gigantic bills like whatever stupid shit they passed during the pandemic and are trying to pass now. Killing babies.
That all sounds extremist and authoritarian to me, with the exception of killing babies. Originally Posted by Strokey_McDingDong
That all sounds like your just fuckin' crazy.
- dilbert firestorm
- 10-01-2021, 10:34 PM
19 blue dogs are still around.
Members of the Blue Dog Coalition
Arizona
Illinois
Members of the Blue Dog Coalition
Arizona
- Tom O'Halleran, Representative from AZ-01
- Lou Correa, Representative from CA-46
- Jim Costa, Representative from CA-16
- Mike Thompson, Representative from CA-05
- Charlie Crist, Representative from FL-13
- Stephanie Murphy, Representative from FL-7
- Sanford Bishop, Representative from GA-02
- Carolyn Bourdeaux, Representative from GA-07
- David Scott, Representative from GA-13
Illinois
- Brad Schneider, Representative from IL-10
- Jared Golden, Representative from ME-02
- Josh Gottheimer, Representative from NJ-05
- Mikie Sherrill, Representative from NJ-11
- Kurt Schrader, Representative from OR-05
- Jim Cooper, Representative from TN-05
- Henry Cuellar, Representative from TX-28
- Vicente Gonzalez, Representative from TX-15
- Abigail Spanberger, Representative from VA-07
- eccieuser9500
- 10-01-2021, 10:41 PM
19 blue dogs are still around.
Members of the Blue Dog Coalition Originally Posted by dilbert firestorm
I don't like Wikipedia, but . . .
The Blue Dog Coalition is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising members from the Democratic Party who identify as centrists or conservatives. The caucus professes an independence from the leadership of both parties and promotes national defense. The caucus has 19 members.
- dilbert firestorm
- 10-01-2021, 10:54 PM
a good question is why is Sinema and Manchin not member of the blue dogs.
- winn dixie
- 10-01-2021, 10:59 PM
house senate?
- eccieuser9500
- 10-01-2021, 11:05 PM
- dilbert firestorm
- 10-01-2021, 11:20 PM