I'd Rather Have Divisiveness

Some bloggers -- most notably Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice and Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine -- are touting political moderation or, as Jarvis calls it, "the militant middle". Gandelman links to a post that links to a site called Centrist Coalition. Here's a sample of what the coalition has on its mind:

On the one hand, we embrace an economic agenda focused on growth and fiscal responsibility. We believe in free trade, fair competition, and limited government.

On the other hand, we embrace an inclusive social agenda that celebrates the rich diversity of American life, and seeks to avoid imposing one person's choices on another. We are pro-choice and pro-civil rights.

The first set of ideas in unexceptionable -- though "limited government" is inconsistent with the second set of ideas, which seeks "an inclusive social agenda" by enabling legal murder and fostering racial quotas, the code words for which are "pro-choice" and "pro-civil rights".

The coalition "endorse[s] candidates with a bold mix of views consistent with this vision of a prosperous and inclusive America." Such a candidate is Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.):

He has a particularly bold record -- solid in embracing pro-growth economic policies, but also strong on government reform issues. He was the chief Republican sponsor of the Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill, an initiative that ultimately succeeded in bringing fundamental reform to the electoral process.

On the one hand, Rep. Shays embraces a variety of conservative fiscal and economic policies, including free trade, welfare reform, partial privatization of Social Security, and bankruptcy reform. He favors tax cuts on capital gains, small businesses, and eliminating the estate tax.

On the other hand, he is pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and has a strong environmental record, to go along with his passionate advocacy of campaign finance reform.

The coalition doesn't want to impose one person's views on others, but it is willing to abide restrictions on freedom of speech through campaign-finance "reform". Then there is the obligatory bow to "choice" (legal murder), "gay rights" (don't gays already have the right to own property and vote?), and "the environment" (a sign that these centrists have fallen under the spell of the hysterics and know-nothings in charge of environmentalism).

That's too much moderation for me. I'll take good old-fashioned divisiveness over wishy-washy, mindless compromise -- any day.