Why do people hate moderates?

Question

It seems if you haven't chosen a side, Lib or Con, Democrat or Republican, you're vilified or looked at strangely. Why is that? In my state, RI, one of my Senators, Lincoln Chaffee, is being branded a traitor to his party for not agreeing with his fellow Republicans on every single issue. Is it that bad to question some of your party's beliefs as opposed to following them blindly?
I've been asked what my party affiliation is and when I say "neither" some people get frustrated. And when I explain I like some, but not all, of what each party has to offer, it's like I have a second head or third eye from the looks I get. Are we really so divisive these days? Can anyone truly be 100% for every plank on a partys's platform?

Answer 1

I think most people are moderate! Politicians and politics/news shows on the other hand, like to create simplified, inflammatory, "for or against us" positions that ultimately hurt everybody in the long run. Few people are that chauvinist, but those that are are so domineering that their tactics are hard to fight. I actually think that of all people, John Stewart does a great job of promoting thoughtful resolution of issues, rather than delineating opinions into 2 unwavering groups. If only real politicians were this way!

Answer 2

Chaffee is a democrat in republican clothing.
He votes more left than right.
Why support him as an R when he will not help the party that supports him?

I don't think people "hate" moderates. I think that calling yourself a moderate is a way of being PC, not taking a stand on anything until it's clear where the safe side is.
If you have core beliefs, then choosing a party is not difficult.
Not having core beliefs means that you can be swayed in your opinion.

No matter what they are, be certain of your ideals. Stand up for them. Calling yourself a moderate is a way of avoiding thinking for yourself.

Be 100% on every plank? Not me. Just most of them. I disagree with some of the planks in my party, but agree with more of them. If you are waiting for a party that is 100% inline with your thoughts, that day may never come.
Do some thinking and see if one of the parties is a close fit.

Answer 3

Beginning with the Kennedy campaign in 1960, politicians (especially at the national level) have depended largely upon media manipulation and the Machiavellian manuevering of voters through sound bites and 30-second commercials. There is a systematic effort NOT to keep voters informed on the issues but to avoid the serious issues and identify peripheral topics to divert their attention and appeal to their prejudices.

I began my political life as an Eisenhower moderate. It was the only way a Southerner in those days could be a strong supporter of civil rights and honest, open debate. But with the take-over of the Republican party by hard-rock "conservatives," now calling themselves neoconservatives, moderates have no choice but to align themselves with Democrats.

In national polls, when I am asked whether I am liberal, moderate, or conservative, I always indicate that I am a moderate. What that mans is that on most issues I think there are many sensible perspectives and they ought to be openly and honestly debated with genuine efforts to keep the public informed, not to keep the public deceived or confused or dependent on sound bites and 30-second commercials.

But moderates must take a stand. In his last major address before stepping down as President, Eisenhower warned of the dangers to American democracy of a military/industrial complex. What he warned against has come true to a degree that he could never have contemplated. Corporate American, dominated by precisely that military/industrial complex, has taken over more and more power, not only in our country but globally. That is the source of so much hatred of us abroad where our imperialistic demands have established an amoral control for many, many years. The Republican conservative stance these days is not conservative in the traditional sense, but imperialistic.

Furthermore, as the deceptions and secrecy of the Bush administration have made clear, these Republican neoconservatives are not "republican" at all, but oligarchic, seeking to establish firmly and forever a government by the few--those few who control the wealth of the country, and hence the news media, campaign funding, Washington lobbyists (who exert incredible control over Congress), and even the electronic machines upon which we cast our votes.

Moderates must oppose both imperialism and oligarchy. We don't have to support all the social issues identified with liberals, but we cannot let these imperialistic, oligarchic neoconservatives use these social issues to sway us to consider supporting their reacationary agenda. However moderate our stand may be issues that inflame the relgious right, we must continue to maintain the separation of church and state and the checks and balances among the judiciary, legislative, and excutive branches of the Federal government. To consolidate their power, neoconservatives have put both of those in serious jeopardy.

And, by the way, these neoconservatives probably have little or not interest in these social issues personally. When they want an abortion, they get an abortion; when they have lesbian daughters, they want full-fledged rights for their lesbian daughters (e.g., Cheney); when they want to hire illegal Mexican immigrants for low pay, horrible working conditions and no fringe benefits, they find ways to justify hiring illegal immigrants; when they want government support (i.e., welfare) for their corporations, they fund lobbyists to find representatives in Congress who will sneak their requests into the shadows of one bill or another. And yet, publicly, with the maneuvering of the Karl Roves on the right, they manage to fan the prejudices of many uninformed votes, who suffer under their policies, by fostering disrespect and disdain, even outright hate, of abortionists, "welfare mothers," homosexuals, and Mexican immigrants.

Why do people hate moderates, you ask? These neoconservatives hate us because they fear us; they fight their battle by labeling us liberals and giving uninformed voters on more group to be prejudiced against. [Read the hate-mongering that is rampant on Yahoo! Answers, such as that spewed out daily by the guy who falsely labels himself "Heroic Liberal."]

But the majority of Americans admire moderates.

What none of us admire are people who use the word "moderate" or "bipartisan" to justify not taking a stand against anything! Especially not taking a stand against the imperialistic, oligarchic reactionaries threatening our democracy in the 21st century. Such moderation has no place in these critical times.

What the Lincoln Chaffees and the Joe Liebermans of the world have to be taught is that moderates must not allow themselves to be used by a rapidly developing axis of evil within the United States. And the neoconservative wing of the Republican party is precisely that: our own homegrown axis of evil.

Answer 4

Politicians and party-affiliated people hate moderates because moderates are smart and intelligent.