My Thoughts on Moderate Members of Congress

My Thoughts on Moderate Members of Congress

There has been a lot of talk lately (on both the conservative and liberal sides) about whether there is room for moderates in each party. And whether there should be room for moderates. Some have argued that moderates should be purged from either party because they don't agree with their party on every issue. Others have argued that moderates help make better policy because they keep the base of their party (liberals for Democrats, and conservatives for Republicans) in line. My opinion is that moderates are extremely beneficial for both parties, and they help keep their party from going overboard. While it is true that moderates may slow down the process of getting legislation passed, in most cases, such delay is due to their constituents wishes, which is what they are sent to Congress to represent.

Contrary to popular perception, there are not enough diehard liberals or diehard conservatives to make up a majority in Congress. Even with the gerrymandering that takes place in forming House districts, there will most likely always be moderate districts. Since neither side is capable of having an outright majority on their own, they must incorporate moderates in order to have a majority.

If the Republican party decided to purge moderate U.S. Senators, they would go from having 40 Senators to 34 Senators. They would lose 6 seats. (I count Voinovich, McCain, Murkowski, Lugar, Snowe, and Collins as moderate senators).

If the Democratic party decided to purge moderate U.S. Senators, they would go from having 60 Senators to 47 Senators. They would lose 13 seats. (I count Bayh, Conrad, Dorgan, Johnson, Landrieu, Lieberman, Lincoln, McCaskill, Nelson, Pryor, Specter, Tester, and Webb as moderate senators).

I consider myself a moderate liberal. Even I am willing to admit and accept that a Democrat from California is likely to be far more liberal than a Democrat from Arkansas. Therefore, it is not fair to begrudge moderates of either party for the fact that they are moderates. This is because in most cases, they are merely representing their constituents.