What does a "centrist" believe in or stand for?

[begin_within]

Sorry for the dumb question. It seems to me like a "centrist" really doesn't want to take a stand on anything.

[slackmaster]

1. I equate centrism with Chinese restaurant style views on issues

One from column A, two from column B, with five or more you get free egg rolls.

[begin_within]

5. In that case I'll get the Chow Yuk

[TahitiNut]

17. Better than the Flung Poo, I guess.

:eyes:

[begin_within]

24. Here comes the pu pu platter!

[ikojo]

2. Neither left nor right but straight ahead

This was the motto of some Greens I met while attending a gay rights demonstration in DC in 1993. Go straight ahead means you will eventually fall off a cliff or hit a wall.

I lean a little to the left...as the great Bill Hicks would say.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. Sounds like a Kang type argument.

"Move forward, not backward! Upward, not forward! And always twirling, Twirling, TWIRLING towards the future!"

[leftchick]

3. they sure do stand for something!

The same as repukes......

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Seems they are rather volatile, really

I've visited www.unity08.com from time to time, just to see what's going on. It's supposed to be a place for "centrists", but when I was there a few months back, there was no consensus. Instead, there were pro-Newt Gingrich and pro-Dennis Kucinich and everything in between. Don't know if they have changed yet or not.

[wtmusic]

6. Justice, but not too much justice

just a smidge.

[stevedeshazer]

7. There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos

-- Jim Hightower

Although this appears to be a 'possum.

[Speck Tater]

9. Centrists I know tend to be...

social liberals and fiscal conservatives. To my way of thinking the term encompasses anyone who tries to avoid the raving lunatic extremes on both sides. I think the "average" Republican is a right-leaning centrist and the "average" Democrat is a left-leaning centrist. That's my uneducated impression any way. I don't consider the term to be pejorative.

[xchrom]

10. their version of being socially liberal accomplishes only two things --

keeping the population from being troublesome and making sure there is an ample and affordable workforce for corporations.

[lvx35]

15. There are a good amount of the opposite too, socially conservative and fiscally left.

This is the Lou Dobbs crowd. A lot of em are flag waving union guys, who back things like entitlements, health care, hate wal mart, buy american made etc. But they side with folks like Dobbs on immigration, gun ownership, sometimes tobacco and religious issues. I find a decent amount of catholics in this camp.

[xchrom]

11. a centrist is always a support for the status quo -- what ever that is. n/t

[leftofthedial]

12. being inoffensive and not challenging the status quo

[Buzz Clik]

13. Rush Limbaugh asked the very same question about moderate Republicans.

Piggly Wiggly has a gift for offending ...

btw -- a centrist can have some very strong beliefs, but many of the points of view may fall on opposite sides of the political fence.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

14. A centrist politician stands for whatever they think will get them elected

And that's subject to change as the political climate changes.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

16. I Don't Like Labels Unless They Are On Food

PEACE

[jgraz]

22. Funny post coming from someone whose handle is DemocratSinceBirth

:P

[Perky]

18. Left on some issue. right on others

typically more pragmatic than philopshical

[DemocratSinceBirth]

19. I'm A Pragmatic Idealist

-:)

[Perky]

20. ahh you must be supporting Obama then

[DemocratSinceBirth]

26. I Am ...

But I just said I was a pragmatic idealist in passing...

And where you land on the ideological spectrum is relative...AT DU I probably fall somewhere in the middle or a bit to the right... In "real life" I am to the left of just about everybody I meet...

[Perky]

27. You and I are pretty m,uch in the same place

[DemocratSinceBirth]

29. I'm Pro Choice, Pro Affirmative Action, And Pro Gay Marriage

That puts me to the left of most people I meet...

I think Bush is an asshat and a "miserable failure" but I can't work myself into a lather about him like some people do... I don't discount what a disaster the Iraq War has been in strategic, humanitarian, and economic terms but I see the day when this war too shall pass...

I want to fix the system but not replace it...

[baldguy]

21. "There's no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party."

[Perky]

28. God that is a bad photo

[TwilightGardener]

23. I consider myself kind of a centrist. I don't know why it's considered to

be less of a legitimate position than either left or right--we're all on a spectrum--I don't think most folks are "pure" or that there's a sharp delineation between lefty issues and righty issues--they can overlap. Look at the love for Ron Paul on DU--makes no sense to me, but some lefties love him, even though he's far to the right except on the war. I think it's a mistake to say centrists don't take a stand on anything--maybe it's more that we pick and choose what we believe in, rather than buying an ideological package deal.

[begin_within]

25. oh...

[rndmprsn]

30. centrists believe in concensus...

which is only possible when one side is not trying to DESTROY the other, time and a place for everything and now is NOT the time for centrism IMHO.