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Commoderate
Author: Raine    Date: 02/25/2016 14:06:38

So we are now left with Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Carson and Ohio Governor John Kasich as the contenders for the Republican nomination. Of those left in this race, Kasich (along with many others) has positioned himself as a more moderate choice in the field.
John Kasich's strategy was clear from the day he announced his intention to run for the presidency last summer: In a huge Republican field filled with fringe candidates veering to the far right, stake out a position as the moderate choice.

And if there is a Republican candidate who might be able to claim the mantle of mainstream conservatism, it probably is Kasich. As the governor of Ohio, a classic battleground state contested equally by Democrats and Republicans, he is experienced in moderate politics.


Monday Night Samantha Bee ripped the bandage off of that fallacy.

“In the nauseating bus terminal restroom that is the Republican primary, John Kasich initially seems like the least disgusting stall,” Bee began. “But is Kasich really the huggable moderate he’s made out to be?”

Bee noted the candidate’s scarcely mentioned record on gay marriage (“Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage, was originally called Obergefell v. Kasich”) and reproductive rights (citing Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, who said, “There is no candidate running for president who has done more for the pro-life movement than John Kasich”).

“If you live outside Ohio, you don’t hear much about Kasich’s anti-choice record because he hides his abortion restrictions in larger budget bills, where they won’t be noticed,” Bee added. “Kind of like a desperate, pregnant teenager buying ever-larger sweatshirts.”


The bottom line is that the media and others are trying to convince people that moderate means not as crazy as those other guys. Karl Frisch said it best earlier this month:
Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, and Ben Carson hold the same conservative positions on virtually every issue that one could reasonably expect a moderate Republican to have a difference of opinion.

They are all anti-choice.

They all deny the scientific consensus on climate change.

They all oppose marriage equality and important, basic, legal protections for LGBT Americans.

They all oppose comprehensive immigration reform –
even those who once supported the idea.

Only in 2016, when the conversation on the right has been largely dominated by loudmouthed (Trump and Cruz) and borderline crazy (Trump, Cruz, and Carson) candidates, has the word “moderate” come to mean a difference of style rather than one of substance.

More and more, the right-wing radicals found in the Tea Party and online in YouTube comment threads have come to define the agenda of the entire Republican Party. And while this extreme element often loses primary elections to establishment candidates, they have won the fight over ideas. Even establishment candidates now parrot the views of this fringe in an effort to curry their favor.

The king of one-liners, Henny Youngman, when asked, “How is your wife?” once quipped, “Compared to what?” That sentiment is equally effective in answering the question, “Are any of the Republican candidates moderate?”
Frisch mentions a few actual moderate Republicans:
For decades, being a moderate Republican meant you had a difference of opinion with your party, typically on social issues but occasionally on environmental and economic issues as well.

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld was a pro-choice, moderate Republican who supported medical marijuana decades before many Democrats came around on the issue.

Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman was a pro-choice, moderate Republican who trusted science when it came to climate change.

Former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe was a pro-choice, moderate Republican who supported marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Note something else these moderates have in common?

They are all former politicians. Some Republicans have left the party and joined the Dems, and many of them are now "former" politicians. Just because Kasich isn't as bellicose as Trump or as mean and creepy as Cruz doesn't make him moderate. It makes him a wolf in sheep's clothing and - make no mistake - he is just as radical as anyone left running in this race.

Regarding the lawsuit citing above in Samantha bee's story. a moderate human being (much less a Republican) doesn't allow this happen:
In all, the ceremony lasted seven minutes and 30 seconds. But it took more than $12,000, a chartered jet and a journey of more than 500 miles for an Ohio gay couple to say "I do."

And they had to say those words in Maryland.

John Arthur, who is bedridden and terminally ill with ALS, which is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, decided last month that his idea of a "perfect day" would be to marry longtime partner Jim Obergefell. (snip)

On Thursday, the men boarded a chartered jet equipped with enough room for Arthur's stretcher and flew to Baltimore, where Arthur's aunt, Paulette Roberts -- who is an ordained minister courtesy of the Internet -- pronounced them husband and husband.

Then they flew home.
That's not moderate, it's cruel.

and
Raine
 

23 comments (Latest Comment: 02/25/2016 20:22:17 by Mondobubba)
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Comment by velveeta jones on 02/25/2016 14:13:30
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.



Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 14:20:16
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.




Aww crap, what did I miss?

Comment by BobR on 02/25/2016 14:20:28
Samantha Bee's show is one of the best on TV right now

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 14:20:33
good morning!

Comment by wickedpam on 02/25/2016 14:28:37
Morning

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 14:29:56
Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 14:39:15
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.

oh the show is coming to asheville!

Nice!


Comment by velveeta jones on 02/25/2016 15:00:56
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.

oh the show is coming to asheville!

Nice!


With FRANGELA!!!



Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 15:32:40
Quote by velveeta jones:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.

oh the show is coming to asheville!

Nice!


With FRANGELA!!!

when is the show?


Comment by Scoopster on 02/25/2016 16:01:26
Mornin' mon peeps!

Comment by BobR on 02/25/2016 16:20:45
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.

oh the show is coming to asheville!

Nice!


With FRANGELA!!!

when is the show?

Are you thinking "road trip!"?

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 17:11:29
Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 17:13:39
Quote by BobR:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Quote by Raine:
Quote by velveeta jones:
Well, today's SMS show started off........ quite well I'd say.

oh the show is coming to asheville!

Nice!


With FRANGELA!!!

when is the show?

Are you thinking "road trip!"?
I AM! I was, however we are flying home that day.




Comment by trojanrabbit on 02/25/2016 17:33:35



FTFA Ted Cruz leads the GOP field by double digits in Texas, a must-win for the home-state senator as he seeks to catch up with front-runner Donald Trump.


Home-state? I didn't realize Alberta had a senator.

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 17:40:31
So, Scalia may have been in a secret male only hunting club that goes back to the 1600's. Nothing strange about this at all.

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 17:40:53
Quote by trojanrabbit:



FTFA Ted Cruz leads the GOP field by double digits in Texas, a must-win for the home-state senator as he seeks to catch up with front-runner Donald Trump.


Home-state? I didn't realize Alberta had a senator.
well played!


Comment by Mondobubba on 02/25/2016 18:23:58
Quote by trojanrabbit:



FTFA Ted Cruz leads the GOP field by double digits in Texas, a must-win for the home-state senator as he seeks to catch up with front-runner Donald Trump.


Home-state? I didn't realize Alberta had a senator.


There are six, actually.

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/25/2016 18:30:21
Quote by Raine:
So, Scalia may have been in a secret male only hunting club that goes back to the 1600's. Nothing strange about this at all.



THE ILLUMINATI!


Comment by Will in Chicago on 02/25/2016 19:07:40
Well, I am done digging out from a snowstorm.

I fear that the modern GOP has no room for moderates. It is no longer the party of Lincoln and Eisenhower, but the party of Trump and Cruz.

Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 19:57:43
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
So, Scalia may have been in a secret male only hunting club that goes back to the 1600's. Nothing strange about this at all.



THE ILLUMINATI!
Good Dei Sir!


Comment by BobR on 02/25/2016 20:12:02
Quote by Raine:
Quote by Mondobubba:
Quote by Raine:
So, Scalia may have been in a secret male only hunting club that goes back to the 1600's. Nothing strange about this at all.



THE ILLUMINATI!
Good Dei Sir!



Comment by Raine on 02/25/2016 20:12:28
More about GRandma Virginia. Listen to the interview! I love her even more!

Comment by Mondobubba on 02/25/2016 20:22:17
Quote by Raine:
More about GRandma Virginia. Listen to the interview! I love her even more!



"I tell a lot of dirty jokes."