America is dominated by two major political parties - the Democrats and the Republicans. These two parties are so powerful and so prominent that no other party has risen to become a legitimate option to the Democrats and the Republicans, even though there is a loud and overwhelming demand for a third party to break the power block of the two-party system.
While there is no third political party to actually challenge the Democrats and Republicans, there is a large and growing swath of voters across the country that identifies themselves as Independents, but do not consider themselves part of the Independent Party.
There is an Independent Party that is recognized in some states, including Louisiana, but voters like myself, have registered as Independent only as a way of not belonging to either the Democratic or Republican Parties. I’m a registered Independent, but do not consider myself part of the Independent Party.
Within the two major political parties, there are three general groups of voters: conservatives, liberals, and moderates. Over time, conservative talk show hosts have successfully degraded the moderate voters to a group that is perceived to be spineless, without strong conviction, or constantly on-the-fence when it comes to their politics. Moderates have been dismissed as wishy-washy compared to the dominant and loudly spoken convictions of right-wing conservatives or left-wing liberals.
But an unlimited number of moderate voters today do possess strong convictions about every social and political issue, but they lack a marketable definition. Because conservative talk show hosts have successfully degraded moderates as a lame, unattractive term to describe voters that they believe do not hold a strong conviction about the issues, the term moderate has actually gained a negative connotation. Centrist might be a more attractive term to describe moderates because being a centrist is a person who has moderate views, it still fails to define those voters who are moderate, but hold very passionate conviction when it comes to all social and political issues.
As a registered Independent who rejects the idea of belonging to either political tribe but as a person who has strong conviction when it comes to every issue, I thought about what term best described me politically.
I support less government, lower taxes, welfare reform, a strong military, and the concept of personal accountability - but I also support LGBTQ+ rights, same-sex marriage, helping disenfranchised Americans. I am strongly against racist, white supremacist, sexist, and misogynistic Americans who pretend to be true patriots because they fly an American flag, yet defy the basic freedoms upon which the nation was founded. So what is a term that describes me and the millions of Americans that share my values?
On and off for the past 10 years I have occasionally referred to myself as a “radical moderate.” As the politics of this presidential election year began ramping up, I have more frequently described myself as a radical moderate. Here’s the definition of political moderate: the American center - dissenters from the right and the left. And here is the definition of radical: a person who holds or follows strong conviction. Put the words “radical” and “moderate” together and you have a term that describes me and millions of Americans.
My goal is not to convince everyone who agrees with my political ideology to define themselves as a radical moderate, but the invitation is there for anyone choosing to do so.
There has been some expected resistance to the term radical moderate, with a few people saying the term doesn’t make sense or you can’t be radical and moderate at the same time. Yes, you can. I am moderate in that I refuse connection to either the Democrats or the Republicans, but I am NOT the moderate that has been portrayed by right-wing talk show hosts who want to dismiss me and millions of other Americans who are moderates with strong convictions.
The hypocrisy of Democrats and Republicans is overwhelming us daily in America. I have known right-wing Republicans who proclaim that the Republican Party is the moral party and they boast that their Christian values are congruent with their Republican values, but they have no problem frequenting strip clubs and buying lap dances and enjoy pornography at home. And there are more examples of this hypocrisy which demonstrates that many Republicans who promote their moral conservative values do not practice what they preach. They are not true Republicans.
The Republicans who claim to adhere to conservative ideology condemn same-sex marriage and abortion rights. Their condemnation of those rights amounts to promoting the government being involved in the most private areas of an Americans’ life. One of the foundations of conservative ideology is less government interference in our lives. How can you claim to be a true conservative if you espouse heavy government intervention into the personal lives of individuals?
Democrats are hypocritical in pushing for measures to stop climate change, yet they drive gas-powered vehicles. On the abortion issue, Democrats promote “my body, my choice,” but not when it comes to forcing everyone to get a vaccine.
As a radical moderate, I am free to have strong opinions on any and all issues without falling into the hypocritical trap of adhering to the stricter tenets of the Democrats or the Republicans.
Self-proclaimed conservative or liberal talk show hosts are appealing to less of a voting public than a radical moderate can. If you are a Republican, there’s a good chance you think the majority of America is Republican. If you’re a Democrat you may feel the majority of America believes what you believe. The truth may surprise you.
A Gallup Poll issued in January of 2024 showed that 27% of voters were Republican voters and 27% were Democrats. Democrats and Republicans are equally divided in America and neither party is even close to a majority of voters. Independents accounted for 43% of the voters. Does that put things in perspective?
As a radical moderate, I am appealing to the largest voting block in America. And this is not new to 2024. Independents first outnumbered both major parties in 1991 and ever since, with the exception of 2004 and 2008, Independents have dominated both major parties. Slightly more Republicans lead toward being Independent, so Republicans and Independents make up 45% of the voters, and Democrats and Independents leaning Democrat make up 43% of the voters.
So, if Independents - moderates - make up the largest voting block in America, then why does it seem that the right-wing, conservative Republicans get so much attention?
Right-wing radicals continue to get overwhelming attention on right-wing media and the mainstream media because they make the most noise and are quick to provide stories of hate, violence, and wild conspiracy theories, and those are elements that get media attention.
Conservative talk show hosts completely dominate talk radio, FOX News dominates cable news, and big names like Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino dominate social media by invoking fear in American voters. Fearmongering accounts for so much of the conservative message today. Even today, former President Trump is saying that if he is not elected in November, “our country will cease to exist.” Trump’s prediction is total bullshit, but it attracts attention in the media.
It’s time for the radical moderates - or moderates with strong conviction, if you prefer, to start being more confident and vocal in denouncing the bogus crap that is poisoning our country. We need to remember that WE dominate the numbers and WE are the voters who determine the outcome of elections. There are simply not enough Democrats or Republicans to control the outcome of a national election. It is the moderates that that determine who wins the White House.
The polls show Biden and Trump in a basic tie. Trump may lead in most polls, but it’s only by a few percentage points and usually within the margin of error which means it’s essentially a tie.
It is sad that America is apparently facing a rematch of two old politicians who battled in 2020 with Biden beating Trump, even in the popular vote, but a lot of Americans voted for Trump. It is pathetic that many Americans now supporting Trump are supporting him because they don’t like Joe Biden. And many Biden supporters are supporting the president only because they don’t like Trump. What happened to this great country when voters were excited to vote for the candidate they love, rather than vote for the candidate that is the lesser of two evils? That country has disappeared and as much as we would like to blame either side, we, the people have only ourselves to blame.
Too many Americans are followers and follow the leader they have chosen. It’s easier to follow the leader. That way you don’t have to actually think - you just follow what the leader and the other followers tell you.
Unless, of course, you are courageous enough to be like a radical moderate, who takes time to consider each issue on its own merits and with strong conviction expresses opinions that are not consistently based on the strict ideology of the Democrats or the Republicans.
