Reading back over the OP meme, I am finding some typos, lol, but there is a ton of wisdom behind this, and I agree with its general spirit.
Centrism gets a bad rap. It doesn’t quicken partisan pulses. But properly understood, it’s anything but boring and squishy. If I were to apply myself a political label, then I’d call myself a left-leaning radical centrist.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrism
”Left-leaning” because I strongly oppose Trump and recognize he has effectively taken over the GOP, to the point I cannot support it in its current state, although I voted McCain in ‘08 and Gary Johnson in ‘12 and ‘16. Those of you who know me may be surprised to learn I have never voted for a Democrat to be president in my life, though I am backing Biden this time.
And “radical” because I am willing to confront and discuss problems head-on, including fundamental institutional problems.
Why is Centrism important?
Whenever anything significant or lasting gets done in Congress, it‘s because both sides came to the table and hashed out a solution.
See: The CARES Act and the other coronavirus relief bills passed recently by Congress and signed by Trump which enjoyed broad bipartisan support. Though in a different era, Republicans would probably have denounced many of the provisions of these bills as “socialism,” most of them now recognize that at this time, stimulating the U.S. economy with things like paid family/medical leave, expanded unemployment insurance, bailouts for struggling industries, and even “helicopter money” (the $1200 checks being disbursed right now), were all necessary measures to counter the negative effects of a holistic shutdown of economic activity.
Though Congress is hated on as an institution and often does nothing due to partisan gridlock, they deserve a ton of credit for getting these bills together relatively quickly in the country’s hour of need.
David Brooks, a centrist/conservative New York Times columnist, often talks about the need for a “radical centrism” to restore American politics.
Ross Douthat, a conservative “Never Trump” columnist for the New York Times, has written some very smart articles lately diagnosing the problems of our contemporary political culture on both the left and right, and critiquing American society overall as being too short-termist and individualistic.
Much more to discuss, but that’s a start.
