On Radical Centricism

I tend to disagree with folks on both ends of the idealogical spectrum.

The joy and at times pain of the system that our founders set up is one where principled individuals of various idealogical backgrounds are voted in to represent people who feel they best represent the future as the voters see it. Then they fight for those principles, they compromise, they argue, they debate, they try to effect as much change as they can, even change their goals as they are suppose to represent the people's views and move the country in the direction they think is best. This is statesmenship.

When Barry Goldwater won the Republican nomination largely thanks to Reagan stumping for him, he said "Let remind you that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice."


To sacrifice your principles and move to the center to be elected is awful. It is the clash of ideas and the "gridlock" in politics that is at the heart of democracy. It is despotism and dictatorship even if YOUR ideas are the ones at the top if there isn't fighting and arguments. Obviously compromises have to be met in the government, but to compromise your principles at the outset, that is radical centrism and it is destructive to our democracy.

The early years of our democracy had such radically different ideas that they would duel over them. Today, we applaud and look for candidates who claim "electability" (which apparently means unprincipled or similar to the opposing party) trumphs principle.