#Moderates

[vintageseawitch]

this cannot be said enough: even if you voted for trump in both 2016 & 2020, but you're voting for Harris/Walz this year, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME HERE. we need all the help we can get. if you've voted Republican for MULTIPLE decades but you plan on voting for Harris/Walz this year, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME HERE.

centrists, moderates, libertarians, liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans, even if you consider yourself far left, no matter how you politically identify but plan to make sure trump doesn't win: YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME HERE.

PLEASE DON'T BE AN ERNST THÄLMANN. DON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT PROJECT 2025/AGENDA 47. you're ALL welcome here if you want to fight for our democracy. check your voter registration status often (as many times as possible) & vote early if you can. talk to friends, make a day of it. LET'S DO THIS!!

[thekimspoblog]

There are few people I despise more than the "Never-Trump"-er.

You prioritized a stupid-ass religion. That's right; I said it; Christianity is stupid, and you're stupid for believing in it.

You spent years trying to strip women of their reproductive rights.

Donald Trump sicking his mob on you for being too moderate is precisely what you deserved. He is the only logical conclusion of the policies you support, and I'd honestly respect you more if you could just slap on a viking helmet with the rest of your ilk, you two-faced weasel.

And now you have the balls to get up here and whine about how your party needs to return to the center and to decency?

Every remotely reasonable policy has come from the progressive side. "Tradition" has never been the moral choice.

The Republicans have functionally been a terrorist sect for decades. Last time I checked, I wasn't supposed to negotiate with you.

You don't deserve a platform; you deserve to be kissing my shoes, begging for forgiveness that you didn't jump ship back in the 80's.

Honestly? If there's even a CHANCE of the Dems moving an inch to the right to court your vote, I'd rather you not vote at all.

You are incapable of learning from your failures, and once the orange man is gone, it's going to be right back to business as usual building your theocratic capitalistic patriarchy... just quietly and politely this time.

Go die in a ditch.

[odinsblog]

For a very long time mainstream media has been conflating the word “moderate” with the word “conservative,” and moving the Overton Window further to the right.

And at the same time, the words “leftist” and “radical” and “extremists” are also being conflated, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Liz Cheney is not a moderate. Chris Christie is not a moderate. Nikki Haley definitely is not a moderate. I guess it’s nice that they are finally calling out Trump, but they all voted for Trump (twice!) and none of them are good people. (How do I know they aren’t good people? Because they spent most of their adult lives and careers supporting harmful conservative policies that intentionally target women and poor/Black/disabled/LGBTQ people to harm.)

The same goes for pundits like Ana Navarro and the other MSNBC “former” Republicans and Republican strategists who don’t like Trump anymore, but are still “proud conservatives.” They support most of Trump’s policies even if they don’t support Trump anymore. And Nikki Haley has even said that if the choice in November comes down to Biden or Trump, she believes that it’s who is Biden the bigger threat to America. (source)

And Nikki Haley has repeatedly said that she would pardon Trump, so that’s another big NOAP for me.

Look, I understand that neoliberals and conservative leaning Democrats have a tendency to kick left + kiss right, but people have GOT to learn that just because a conservative might occasionally do something right, like oppose Trump, that does not magically transform them into good people™ worth elevating or supporting.

One last thing: I’ve seen a lot of Biden supporters get all caught up in their feelings because Jon Stewart made fun of (gasp) Biden’s age. Listen: WE are not the ones who are in a cult! It is 100% okay for voters to joke about and criticize people in power. It’s MAGA who cannot criticize their dear leader, remember? It's the other guys, THE CULTISTS, who cannot accept even the lightest of criticisms.

“But Republicans will use it against us”

Yes, Republicans will use anything and everything against us, whether we said it or not. That’s what they dO. They lie, make shit up and try to use literally anything—true or false, good or bad—against non-Trump supporters. Being good and honest and not saying anything Republicans disagree with will not gain you any votes with Republicans.

Look, Idgaf about what Republicans and other people on the right think. About anything. Idc. Idgaf. Their opinions don’t matter and they aren’t going to change who I vote for in November 2024. I’m not worried about trying to change their hearts and minds, because they’re heartless and mindless.

At the end of the day, I dO think that msm tends to run with rightwing narratives, but once again, none of that foolishness will change my vote.

Put your grownup pants on and don’t get caught up in the drama.

[shinobicyrus]

Listen. I'm not foolish enough to expect the Democratic nominee to proudly proclaim some socialist stance. That's just the state of American politics and its terminally myopic two-party system.

This need to appeal to the capital "M" Moderate, though? It's just the steady shift of Democratic policies further to the Right. It's how you get six Republicans speaking at the DNC, but not a single Palestinian-American speaker. It's how you get, for the first time in 12 years, no trans speakers at the DNC during a time when the GOP have put transphobia and anti-queer policies at the forefront of their platform.

Rather than dismiss or ignore the tired Socialist/Marxist/Communist accusations that Republicans fling at everyone to the left of fucking Sauron, Harris feels the need to tell people in an official public speech: "Look, I'm a capitalist."

This is a thing that no one asked or even thought about except for the most terminally online far-right trolls that weren't gonna vote for her anyway. Yet, she felt the need to reassure everyone she isn't some "radical." Whatever that means. This is how you have Harris promising to pass that failed bi-partisan immigration bill that Donald Trump sabotaged. Which, in case everyone forgot, would have been one of the toughest and harshest to date. Can't look weak against immigrants and asylum seekers!

This is how you have the Democratic Nominee for President promising to keep the US military the "strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world."

This is how you have the Democratic Nominee for President's economic policies compared to Mitt Goddamn Romney's.

Anyone remember the Romney's presidency? No, of course not, because he lost.

Will Harris defeat Trump in 2024? There's a good chance that she might win - or perhaps more accurately - that Trump will lose. I truly hope for this outcome.

But what about 2028? 2032? What about when someone less personally offensive than Trump but every bit as fascistic inevitably tops the GOP ticket? One a little more disciplined in speech, less prone to inane ramblings, and lacks dozens of indictments? How can the Democratic Party, ostensibly the "left wing" of American politics, supposed to stay competitive and distinguish themselves in a political arena when they're constantly ceding ground to the Right on immigration, military spending, the economy, guns; trying to hush controversial issues like "human rights for queer people," or "being a party to genocide" in a desperate attempt to appeal to some shrinking "moderate" demographic?

What do they have left, when all they can say is "well at least we're not weird like those guys"?

When NBC News of all organizations asked about the DNC's lack of trans speakers this year or the scaling back of discussions about queer rights, it was met only with silence:

"The DNC and the Harris campaign declined to comment."

Cool.

[trendynewsnow]

Concerns Over Kamala Harris's Political Strategy Among Democrats

Kamala Harris’s Political Strategy Raises Concerns Among Democrats As Vice President Kamala Harris seeks to broaden her appeal toward the political center, a growing number of Democrats express unease about her approach. They worry that in her quest to win over moderates who remain skeptical of former President Donald J. Trump, she may be risking the enthusiasm of progressive and working-class…

[fannishfeminists]

Reactionary centrism: The toxic force that could elect Trump — and kill off democracy | Salon.com

Please please read this!!!

[garthnadermemestash]

The 2 party system is a threat to democracy

[futurebird]

Violence, to the moderate.

If the idea of violent protests don't make you at least little scared I wonder how well you know history. At the same time, real change almost never happens without people putting their bodies on the line.

(Cartoons by Mattie Lubchansky )

The right understands this far better than your average liberal/moderate. To be a moderate is to trust that existing systems will (mostly) work.

If those system fail? What then? To even consider this is for a moderate ... treason. It's *not* a good thing that one side has all the guns.

I saw a photo a few days ago. I think it was titled. "Vermont politics" -- in it a scruffy cheerful white man held a gun and a sign. The sign said something like "Respect my trans daughter and my right to bear arms!" (did anyone else see this?)

Some people were annoyed at the guy for being so into guns. I could only think how glad I was for his daughter that he had one.

[corporationsarepeople]

“Moderates always cave. A tale as old as time.”

—GOP Member of Congress

[vintageseawitch]

moderator: will you veto an abortion ban if it comes across your desk, yes or no?

trump: blah blah blah, i'm the greatest, i got the most votes in history, everyone wanted Roe v Wade overturned, i worked the hardest, the Supreme Court worked really hard, blah blah blah (no yes or no, btw)

moderator: as president, would you continue to aide Ukraine, yes or no

trump: blah blah blah, we need to stop the senseless killing, it's horrible, blah blah blah (still no yes or no ofc)

moderator: do you regret anything about Jan 6?

trump: blah blah blah, they let all their illegals in, crime is the worst it's ever been, the crime here is worse than the rest of the world, blah blah blah (no response once again)

we all know if he gave his true answers to both of these it wouldn't be good for him. either he's been coached or is still in enough of a "sound" mind to know this & we ALL know what his answers are: he's in bed with putin & wants Russia to win which could lead the way to chaos in the rest of Europe. as for abortion, have you heard jd vance speak at all? he hates women & abortions should be banned no exceptions. someone getting raped & pregnant as a result of it is "AN INCONVENIENCE." he plans to support a national ban.

he doesn't care what happened on January 6th. HE STILL BELIEVES IN THE LIE THAT HE WON. he seems confused. should we be concerned?

[queerpossums]

fucking hell this text set for a discussion on imperialism is so lukewarm. it’s tepid, spineless, aggressively moderate, nonpolitical on an inherently political issue, and refusing to look at the actual issue. the british museum is obviously fucked and needs to return all the shit it’s stolen,but is that really the best example they can provide for the entire issue of imperialism????? prioritizing how imperialism impacted brexit over how it impacts those subjected to imperialism is shallow and embarrassing.

[odinsblog]

Joe Biden fetishizing “bipartisanship” with the crazy ass fascists of the GOP is so completely on brand for him. Unfortunately.

Quite honestly, it disgusts me.

The racist extremists in the GOP just used thee most partisan of tactics to extort the U.S. economy + eviscerate the social safety net + harm the poor, but Joe Biden’s anachronistic ass thinks that’s just swell, because fucking “bipartisanship.”

Look, there is no such thing as a “moderate” Republican. The media has completely destroyed that word beyond all recognition. If Joe Manchin is advocating for the poor to starve to death, as long as he isn’t yelling or swearing, the media will call him a moderate.

There is no such thing as a MAGA Republican—that’s the overwhelming majority of the GOP and conservative voters.

If you think that there is somehow an “acceptable” amount of fascists in the Republican Party, let me remind you about the “shit in your milkshake” analogy: How much (or how little) shit is acceptable in your milkshake? 10% shit? 5% shit?? Or are you, like me, only satisfied with no shit in your milkshake?? I know that’s being a little picky, but that’s how I feel.

Same thing with fascists in the Republican Party. There are enough white supremacists + fascists in the GOP that the whole damn thing is rotten to the core. Just like a shit milkshake.

“Bipartisanship” is not the fucking end goal of politics, and I’m super tired of seeing Dems chronic devotion to “reaching across the aisle” to make nice with a Party of white supremacists who religiously fuck them over at every opportunity.

Establishment Dems are the only ones who believe in this foolishness. Republicans repeatedly show that they will block a SCOTUS nominee, repeal Roe v. Wade, slit your throat, and not give a single solitary shit about being “bipartisan.” But hey, Biden thinks we should all be on our knees praising bipartisanship, y’all. Because Republicans only managed to kill the safety net a little bit, this time. But trust me, they’ll finish the job when the time limit (aka: poison pill) runs out, and ~*magically*~ nobody will be able to get enough votes to get rid of them, thus making it the “temporary compromise” a permanent one.

Istg I’m worried shitless about the upcoming election.

[that-bitch-abbi-lynne]

If you want an example of how much moderates suck, watch basically any clip from the Good Place involving the Good Place committee. Compromise only works when the people you’re compromising with aren’t batshit crazy monsters who sacrifice rights, morals, ethics, and anyone who can’t help them, for their own naked self interest. Being a moderate in America is like being a moderate in NAZI Germany. And that’s really not even a huge exaggeration, because most of these assholes are literally NAZI sympathizers, and are all extremely racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and huge fucking fascists.

[wakewithgiggli]

[muscovitez]

I had to do this with moderate version.