Are you allowed to be a Moderate Republican?

If you believe the cries of the far Right, there shouldn't be. The likes of Glenn Beck, Rush the pill-popper and many others on Fox News "Editorial" or "Opinion Oriented Entertainment" would you have you believe that the only good moderate belongs in the ranks 0f the independents. They wax unpoetic about how the great white hope is Sarah Palin, and that the Tea Party is a far more serious bunch of people to be reckoned with then.. lets say the Demoncrats (no, this is not a typo).

The truth of the matter however is they're a small bunch who shout louder then the rest of us. They're the minority with the biggest podium to speak from. With movements like the Tea Party who recently upset the GOP applecart into believing that any-and-all Republicans should stand defiant in the face of any bill proposed by a Democrat (including Junior Senator Al Franken's not often spoken of Anti-Rape Bill) Moderate Republicans are being forced to make very tough decisions..

Join with the Rightwing Hardliners, or die (politically that is). Its a very fracturing message to the general population in my belief. If you grew up as a moderate republican, the party appears to be indoctrinating a more hardline stance against any liberal point of view without compromise which could leave you out in the cold.. or, if you're like many, you'll want to stick to what you know and try to follow along with these hardliner principles as best you can.

However this has created a lot of friction over the past year. Moderates, who are more prone to compromise, are being looked at as traitors to the core Republican beliefs. So as to keep themselves in a positive light with their base, any incentive to cooperate has been removed.

It wasn't long ago, no wait.. it's still a predominate message in campaign ads today, where the proud, all American political candidate would proudly boast that they have the integrity to reach across party lines and seek the help of a fellow American. Some would say this is a typical Liberal Message. Not true, Republicans say the same things, just with more fervor sometimes. However when elected as of late these Republicans then circle the wagons and try to fend off any semi-liberal legislation to garner favor with their party as well as with those pesky Tea-Party Protestors.

So where does this leave that not-often-spoken-of step-child named the Moderate Republican? Well.. it seems as of late the Far-Right has them locked in a basement while Sarah Palin goes on her book tour. Most Moderate Republicans tend to not favor such hard-line principles, and some even like the idea of a compromise in Government.

Myself, I believe that as a Moderate Democrat, we have lost sight of what truly works in Government; Compromise. I believe partially in what the Republican Moderates are trying to accomplish, as well as what the Lefties are trying to accomplish in this year of our creator 2009 and beyond. However no one is going to get nowhere real fast with how the Republican Party is trying to stonewall healthcare reform and not try to work out some sort of deal.

Their motto seems to be as of late; Its my way or the highway. This attitude/agenda has never worked well for anyone in a democratic society such as ours and with the country more divided then ever its paramount that the Moderates, both on the left and the right, start taking a stand for Compromise.

-Brian Smith

"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits then strict justice." - Abraham Lincoln (1865)