Who is a militant moderate?

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Posted by Jim on Aug 10, 2006 75 views

such people as

http://kenowen.blogspot.com/ - who questions airport security by saying “what’s going to happen to all the shops after the security checks?” Maybe he should decide which he wants to be, a capitalist or anti government radical.

http://www.militantmoderate.co.uk/ - Fountains of Wayne aficionado Richard is renowned for his acerbic wit and strong moral stances. When not drinking Timothy Taylor’s Landlord in the Gardener’s Arms, he will be beavering away at a history Master’s degree. Politically speaking, he is a card carrying commie member of the Liberal Democrats. Despite this, he is an intelligent chap, and is rarely anything other than erudite and well-thought out. His political opinions are infused with a ‘fire and brimstone’ morality, and is a Broad Church Anglican who happened to stop believing in God. Whilst he is from the left wing of the militant moderates, he is a welcome companion and I look forward to his contributions here.

Nice, a commie, a drunk and a liberal arts history major. Wow - um what more positive can we say about being a militant moderate?

http://tutakai.blogspot.com/2004/06/militantly-moderate-first-thing-to.html - hmm, what do they say?

This is where the militant moderate comes in. Its time that moderates stopped being rhetorical doormats for extremists of left and right. Both liberals and conservatives have ideas to offer and it is ultimately their loss in refusing to learn from and engage the other side. Moderates are in a position to draw upon the intellectual and rhetorical resources of both sides and to begin to construct a genuine middle road for public policy that avoids the wild vacillations between left and right.

What this means in practice is often a form of contrarian rhetorical strategy. When in an environment dominated by liberals, the role of the militant moderate is to work to force some consideration of and engagement with conservative arguments. Conversely, when in an environment dominated by conservatives, the militant moderate seeks to introduce some consideration of liberal views. Given the extreme polarization of the political classes and the vitriol that is frequently dished out against dissenters who are (nearly always) perceived to be “spies” from the other side, this is not generally a socially rewarding activity, but it does have an intellectual payoff. After all, the militant moderate can stand with confidence on a much more solid base of thought and experience than can any extremist. Being open and engaged with arguments from both sides has the effect of an innoculation against most forms of political pathologies, trendy ideologies, and fleeting infections of political passions.

Read the whole thing but let me sum it up - How to be a militant moderate? Waffle. Yes, waffle on every issue depending on who is in the room for the win