Moderate Litmus Test

[UteThunder]

Based on the replies I received in my earlier thread, might I suggest a Moderate Litmus Test.

What I would propose, is that if you are going to claim to be a moderate, then you need to answer the following questions and let everyone else decide if you truly are a moderate.

1. Which political party do you identify with most? Not necessarily that you are a member of, just which one you typically align with on policy. 

1a. Which way do you typically vote?

2. Which side do you defend/attack the most? Do you typically only attack one? Or do you vilify the Left and the Right equally?

3. Which side do you argue on the following issues: Abortion? Capitol Punishment? Gay Rights? Gun Rights? Immigration? Religious Freedom? Social Welfare? Military Spending? The ACA?

 

 

 

[PorterRockwell]

I know I’m going to hate myself for asking but why are you apparently so compelled to label people liberal conservative or moderate? Does it hel you to u deter ad them better? Give one group more credibility than another?

Why are there labels important to you?

For the record I am pro choice I don’t think the government has any business telling a woman what she can or cannot do with her own body. It’s none of my business if she has an abortion. Even if it were taxpayers
money

Gay people getting married is a civil rights issue and NOT a religious freedom issue

Gun rights. I own several. I carry. I no longer support the NRA. They’ve been hijacked by the same folks thst hijacked the Republican Party

I don’t subscribe to ANY political party. I vote for the candidate that best represents my views and my interests.

The ACA I’m in favor of the ACA. It’s a step in the right direction of fixing our dilapidated profit mongering health care system the ACA is far from perfect but the “solution” being presented by Trump et al does one thing. Protects the wealthy

Lastly the fact that you need or want a litmus test makes you sound like a Utah county republican or James Evans whom wants party purity tests.

[UteThunder]

I don’t want to label people, but I do want people to be honest in how they conduct themselves during political discussions. It is such a farce for someone who is clearly left of center to attack conservative ideals and then claim to be a moderate. These people will never (or almost never) attack liberal ideals, only conservative. Likewise, they will never (or almost never) defend conservative ideals, only liberal. And then they have the nerve to claim they are a moderate.

If someone is truly a moderate, it seems to me that they would either be an equal opportunity offender, meaning they are conservative on as many issues as they are liberal on others, or they wouldn’t really feel strongly enough about most issues to take one side or the other. But to almost always lean left and then claim they are in the middle? It’s a total copout.

p.s. Nice job accusing me of needing labels and then finishing up by labeling me with what I’m sure was intended to be an insult. And I’ll bet you consider yourself a moderate, too, right?

[PorterRockwell]

You proposed a litmus test. Given your OP I don’t think It’s a stretch to inquire if you need/want labels. Utah county republicans and James Evans the state republican chair want litmus tests for party purity. You brought the comparisons on by proposing a litmus test and now your offended?

It sounds like you expect these so called moderates to do things 50/50?
That’s not realistic.
I don’t like the democrats stance on gun control I don’t like how republicans and democrats cater to their wealthy benefactors I don’t
like republicans interjecting religion into OUR government and bedrooms
I don’t care for the divide that republicans and democrats have created this divisiveness in OUR country. Labeling people moderate conservative or liberal contributes to this divide imho

[UteThunder]

It would take a lot more than that to offend me. I was merely pointing out the absurdity of your response.

“Why do you need labels? Now allow me to label you!” 

I honestly had no idea Evans wanted a party purity test because I have no interest in news stories about him. He’s a right wing nut as far as I am concerned.

I don’t expect moderates to be 50/50 on the dot, but if someone is truly a moderate then they will be closer to that ratio then they are to 100/0 to the left or right. As I’ve said before, you can’t claim to be a moderate and then lean left or right on the vast majority of issues.

[AZswayze]

I don’t know how scientific this is, and I’m not sure why I’m willing to play along (slow work day I suppose), but what the hell:

1. Which political party do you identify with most? Not necessarily that you are a member of, just which one you typically align with on policy.

Split between Dems and Libertarians, but if we’re talking about just the two major parties probably Dems.

1a. Which way do you typically vote?

Since I’ve been of voting age: Bush, Bush, Did not vote, Clinton. This doesn’t mean much though, as I would have voted for anybody who was opposing Trump, even Ted Cruz (if he had gone independent of course). My vote had nothing to do with policy, as I don’t believe Clinton would have acted on the ones important to me, and everything to do with sanity.

2. Which side do you defend/attack the most? Do you typically only attack one? Or do you vilify the Left and the Right equally?

To make an honest assessment here we need to ask which issues are discussed most. As I said earlier, I’m very passionate about the separation of church and state (which shouldn’t be considered right or left), and while I lean left on a couple of specific issues that tie into this, neither ranks super high on my overall list of concerns. Nevertheless, I tend to jump in on these conversations quite a bit, because they are tied to my larger belief. I am against the GOP’s stance on those specific issues I alluded to, but I don’t feel they’re true conservative stances to begin with (they’ve only become staples since the evangelicals took over the party).

3. Which side do you argue on the following issues: Abortion? Capitol Punishment? Gay Rights? Gun Rights? Immigration? Religious Freedom? Social Welfare? Military Spending? The ACA?

Abortion: I’m fine with early term abortions, and even late term if the mother’s life is at stake. This is one of those issues that I feel has unjustly been made to be a conservative value. There was a time when left leaning Catholics were the driving force behind the pro-life movement. Had I been alive at that time I would have been labeled a conservative by folks like yourself. Call me left leaning if you like on this issue.

Capitol Punishment: The only problem I have with it is that our criminal justice system has incarcerated so many innocent people. This isn’t a huge political issue for me, but I’d probably say I’m against it for that reason alone. Depends on what day of the week you ask me though. Definitely in the middle as I’m basically undecided.

Gay Rights: You mean equal rights? Again, the anti-gay marriage crowd is largely (almost completely) composed of evangelicals. Until I hear a viable argument that doesn’t have anything to do with the bible I don’t see any rationale behind blocking it. Again, label me a lefty on this issue if you like.

Gun Rights: I own firearms. I think our gun culture is a bit extreme, but I’m a supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I’m open to considering regulations if somebody can show that they will reduce firearm related deaths, but short of banning them I don’t know that it’s possible. I’d definitely say I lean to the right.

Immigration: We need strong borders, and proper vetting of immigrants. That doesn’t mean I agree with Trump’s wall, or about deporting the eleven million currently in the US. I think the wall is a ridiculous waste of money that won’t do anything but hit us in the pocketbook and ruffle Mexico’s feathers. If I thought it was a viable way to keep people from streaming in unchecked I’d be for it. To the other point, deporting the millions of illegal aliens that are here is logistically impossible, and a nightmare from a humanitarian standpoint. What’s the solution? I’m not sure, but not knowing doesn’t make me a leftist on this issue. You might say I am in the middle, but I think my beliefs tilt me to the right.

Religious Freedom: I’m completely supportive of the entire constitution, and especially the first amendment. The problem with “religious freedom” laws is that they’re not meant to protect anybody’s freedom to practice their own religion without stepping on the rights of others. I’m 100% supportive of religious freedom, so long as it doesn’t impact me or other people that don’t fit into your belief structure. You might call me a leftist due to my disgust with these laws, but I fully support others rights in this regard.

Social Welfare: Welfare is meant to be a social safety net, which I think is vital to our society. What I do have a problem with is the rampant abuse of that system. I guess you’d say I’m either in the middle or maybe even right leaning, as I honestly don’t think most conservatives want to cut these programs altogether.

Military Spending: We have the most powerful military of all-time. I think this is an area where we could stand to cut some funds. Is that considered a true liberal stance? If so, you can say I lean left here.

The ACA: Didn’t go far enough. Yes, I know I call myself fiscally conservative, but I’ve seen far too many people bankrupted by our system, and too many folks die unnecessarily. I also think, that if done correctly, we may be able to actually save money with a socialized system. That’s assuming we crack down on the rampant abuse by end users, hospitals, and scammers. I am conservative when it comes to a budgetary matters, but I really feel like America is well behind the curve here. One point for the left.

Interested to see responses. I don’t personally consider some of these to be real conservative issues, and some I just don’t care much about. One of my biggest concerns is actually over regulation, and excessive spending (thus, my claim to be fiscally conservative). Problem is, neither party is serious about solving these problems.

Trump signed a ridiculous executive order mandating two regulations cut for every one put in place, which made it appear that he was doing something. What he did was approach an incredibly complex issue like a five year old would, and throw an arbitrary number out as if that somehow makes any sense. He is also trying to gut the EPA, and repeal Dodd-Frank, but the ramifications may be devastating. His goal here is to help big business, but at the expense of our environment and quite possibly our economy. We need serious reforms on government spending, but like the saying goes, it needs to be done with a scalpel and not a sledgehammer.

[Utahute72]

1. Probably libertarian

1.a. Republican on National offices, democratic within the state

2. I tend to be a contrarian, so it depends on who the most strident voices are, then I argue the opposite.

3. I don’t tend to fully agree with any side or political party on any of those issues.

[Author]

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