Talk:Moderate

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I sincerely object to the following passage:

Perhaps because of their conciliatory and cautious general nature, it has been stated that 
there are no great  moderates. While this point could certainly be argued, it is inarguable
that the most memorable political and religious leaders have generally been at least largely 
identifiable as either left-wing or right-wing.

The entire passage in the article about the lack of great moderates is POV, in my opinion. A very strong case can be made that George Washington, arguably the greatest president in the history of the United States, was a moderate when he was acting as president. Another of the (arguably) greatest presidents in U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln, was considered somewhat moderate when he was elected president, considering his plans for dealing with ex-slaves (sending them back to Africa, of course he later changed his mind) compared to the ideas of more emphatic abolitionists of the same era. I'm certain other examples abound, those two are merely off the top of my head. I plan to add a POV tag to the article, or simply remove the relevant passages, in the next few days if no serious challenge to what I'm saying here appears. - Jersyko talk 22:04, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Whether one has a conciliatory nature is not due to one's ideology; I'm generally conciliatory but am considered to be more radical. What about Martin Luther King? Conciliatory and highly memorable, moreso than more radical leaders such as Malcolm X. I'd remove the passage. Juan Ponderas

• I made the changes and restructured the article. - Jersyko talk 16:49, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] separated politics and religious

Religion and political definitions of conservative, liberal, othodox and fundamentalist are unique. It was confusing to lump them together. A fundamentalist baptis is not necessarily a political conservative, jsut as an orthodox Jew is not necessarily a conservaitve. Nor is a secularist a liberal.

I split out the religious and political definitions to more closely reflect the distinct differences in the definition of moderate. Tbeatty 04:25, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Moderate vs. centrist

I think this article needs to explain the similarities and differences between the terms moderate and centrist. They seem to often be used interchangeably though there does appear to be some differences. --Cab88 11:26, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why is there no Moderate political party in the US?

The two-party system leaves no room for presenting a Moderate position. While the Democrats represent the Liberals and the Republicans the Conservatives there seems to be no place for Moderates. The political system has mechanisms in place such as "winner takes all" which tends to inhibit the growth of a third party and ensure the status quo. The two major parties are content to split the Moderates between them. Perhaps it is time for the Moderates to assert themselves politically. There are ways short of forming a third party that they can do this such as forming a Moderate Caucus in Congress. It is one way that we might fight extremism and get Congress to look to the nation's business instead of waiting for the next election and a new government.--Jbergquist (talk) 02:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

There are several third parties that already exist that follow moderate beliefs. One, most likely the most major one, is known as the Centrist Party. Unfortunately, I, myself never agree with third parties, as I see their struggles as getting them nowhere. You can see we have never had a third party candidate as President. The only time we haven't actually had a Republican or a Democrat as president was George Washington (Who had no political party affiliation, as he said it would divide the country. You could define him a moderate, in some sense.) and the four presidents who were in the Whig Party (William Henry Harrison (1841), John Tyler (1841-1845), Zachary Taylor (1849-1850), Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)). In my opinion, I'd say that you would be better off defining yourself as a moderate, not joining a party, and simply showing support for whatever candidate or cause as you see fit. - JWhitt (talk) 12:18, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

I would argue that moderates tend to gravitate to the weaker party in a two party system...which in time leads to political realignments. For instance in the 1930s-1970s, when the Democratic Party was dominant, many Republicans such as Thomas Dewey held very moderate positions, which helped form what Nixon called the "silent majority" that eventually overturned Great Society Liberalism. Likewise, in recent years, when the Republicans have generally had momentum, and have been increasingly dominated by Conservative views, moderate views tend to go to the Democratic Party (Bill Clinton was generally a moderate), ultimately leading to the decline of the Republicans. But, if the Democratic Party now pushes forth a strongly liberal agenda now that they clearly have the upper hand, moderate Americans will drift toward the Republicans in time. This is just my impression. Estornino (talk) 07:49, 17 February 2009 (UTC)