The Speaker Battle & the Myth of the Moderates

If there were a sizable bloc of moderate centrists cutting across both parties, they would seize this moment to redefine American politics. They won't. Because no such faction exists.

Let’s take a hypothetical consistent with the myth.  Suppose there were indeed a sizable number of true moderate centrists within the Democratic caucus.  They would view this moment with glee.  From their perspective, the most radical elements of the GOP have isolated themselves into a small faction of twenty.  Their goal—as moderate centrists—should be to make that isolation permanent, while simultaneously isolating the extremists on the left.

To do that, this hypothetical moderate Democratic faction would approach the establishment McCarthy with a deal to support his Speakership in exchange for moving his majority caucus towards the center.  If McCarthy took that deal, he would hemorrhage further support, perhaps mushrooming the self-isolating extremist faction on the right to forty or fifty.  That, in turn, would invite in a few more moderate Democrats. 

When the dust settled, a large governing “center,” likely leaning slightly to the right, would have isolated the Republicans who consider themselves the truest conservatives and the Democrats who consider themselves the truest progressives.

From a strategic perspective, if your true goal is to anchor American governance in its allegedly dominant center, the process is a no-brainer.  The time is now.

There is, however, zero chance of this outcome emerging.  Why?  Because America’s sizable moderate center is a myth.  America today is split between two conflicting value systems and two consequent lenses through which adherents glimpse reality.  Nearly all Democrats belong to one camp; nearly all Republicans to the other.  Differences within those camps tend to hinge on personality, tactics, priorities, and corruption.

Today, one GOP faction sees that its values are in retreat and that it is losing the country.  It cannot afford complacency or business as usual.  Their counterparts among the Democrats see themselves as ascendant; though they may wish to quicken the pace, they’re more-or-less fine with business as usual.  They feel no compulsion to isolate themselves—but they will if pushed to do so.  That’s why the “rebellion” is occurring on the right rather than the left.

Though few in the press will report it, if a governing, moderate, centrist bloc does not emerge when one of the allegedly extremist factions has self-isolated, it will never emerge.  This week is put up or shut up for the myth of the large moderate center.  It’s beyond time to bury it and confront the very real challenges we face as a country riven between conflicting value systems.

.

---

For more information about Bruce D. Abramson & American Restorationism, visit: www.BruceDAbramson.com

To learn more about how America’s elites destroyed the republic, see:  The New Civil War: Exposing Elites, Fighting Utopian Leftism, and Restoring America (RealClear Publishing, 2021).

To learn more about the ideology driving today’s anti-American leftism, see: American Restoration: Winning America’s Second Civil War (Kindle, 2019).

To learn more about our work at the American Coalition for Education and Knowledge, visit us at https://coalition4america.com/.

To learn more about how I turn the ideas I discuss here into concrete projects that serve the interests of my clients, donors, and society at large, please e-mail me at bdabramson@pm.me.