Moderates Aren't the Only Ones in the Middle

image
Author: Erik Fogg
Published: 14 Feb, 2017
Updated: 17 Oct, 2022
3 min read

In our mission to "rebuild the middle ground" of United States politics, we are obviously fighting a losing battle. Pew lays out a pretty horrid landscape -- and that was before the election. The left and right hate each other, and they may be caught in a downward spiral of distrust that tears the country apart.

If there's any hope to be had from this particular strategy, the middle ground needs to identify who's in it, and find each other -- and fast.

The whole hypothesis of Wedged is that the cycle of mistrust is built on fairly reasonable people from each side buying into the idea that everyone on the other side of the political spectrum is a "nutjob" -- where the "nutjobs" in fact represent a loud-but-small minority.

Hopefully many of us can imagine a world where those people are largely ignored, rather than running the political show. It seems a very long way off.

I think one of the things that's held some folks back is that they believe this middle ground to be built is a bunch of moderates, at the exclusion of people who take a stand somewhere else on the spectrum. I've heard some people say, "I'm not for you: I'm an X."

What The Middle Ground Means

This is one of those, "if you're listening to this, you are the resistance" kinds of messages. Whether you're part of this intrepid group depends very little on your political ideology (with a few rare exceptions), and more on how you want to play the game of politics.

Here's What the Middle Ground Isn't

IVP Donate

  • Moderates or centrists, at the exclusion of others (they are of course welcome)
  • People who believe that the truth is always "in between" what the Democrats and Republicans think
  • Those who think compromise is always the right move
  • Being part of the middle ground doesn't mean not taking a stand. It doesn't mean not believing in something, advocating for it, and believing it's the right policy idea.

What the Middle Ground Is

  • Those who believe most Americans share a set of core values that is consistent
  • Those who believe a middle ground exists (yes, this is a bit recursive)
  • Those who recognize that there can be people in the middle ground of different political ideologies: that there are smart, well-informed, well-intentioned people of different political ideologies
  • Those who are open to learning from others that have different policy proposals, and have the humility to believe that they probably haven't gotten it all figured out yet
  • Those who recognize that they do not need to agree with the entire slate of one party or political group; that they will evaluate different ideas by their merits, regardless of who said them
  • Those who recognize that trying to caricaturize and score political points against those that disagree with them isn't going to help the country move forward -- or even accomplish their own political agenda
  • Such people can be moderates, conservatives, liberals, progressives, libertarians, greens, etc. No matter what policy pack you think is right for the country, you're the middle ground if you fit into the above.

I haven't figured out how to get all of you together. This is where I could use some help. But, again: "if you're reading this, you are the resistance." You're a special brand that is trying to hold the country together against the many forces that are tearing it apart.

Hope to have your help.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Reconsider Media on February 9, 2017 and was republished with permission from the author.

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read