Although sad but true, the people who run our government are the

most indecisive, unaware people in the country. They are

moderates.

In politics, there is nothing worse than a moderate.

These are the people who say they are open-minded because

they don’t have to follow a set of beliefs. They look at the issue and

say there is no right or wrong; we need both. Moderation is the

easy way out of making a decision.

Open-minded? How about mind numb?

Attorney General John Ashcroft put it best with a favorite joke of his,

“The only thing in the middle of the road are moderates and dead

skunks.”

Voters who consider themselves to be “in the middle” are a drag

on our political system. They instantly become the main focus of

every election, regardless if it’s a liberal or a conservative running.

The candidates water down the issues to solve problems in order

to get the vote of someone who can’t even make up their mind

and decide what they believe in.

These “skunks” are going to be in the electorate no matter what.

There is no getting rid of them; it is the American way to be as

uninformed as possible.

A moderate electorate is rather disappointing, but it doesn’t

compare to the damage done by moderate legislators.

It seems to be the new trend in Washington, especially within the

Republican party. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is a prime example of

an inconsistent moderate.

McCain, who claims to be a Reagan conservative, is the No. 1

problem to the Republican party in the Senate.

He takes a liberal/moderate view on almost every major issue –

gun control, campaign finance reform, tax cuts and the patients’

bill of rights.

Then he tries to act like some big Republican hero, ignoring the

fact he is making it more difficult for his own party to legislate

because they must fight amongst each other instead of only facing

the Democrats.

The reason he takes such stances is quite obvious – he wants

media attention. But that’s not the point.

People like McCain who take spineless stances on issues throw

the entire system offtrack.

Right now, it’s throwing the conservative base out of whack

because the Republican party consists of the most

moderates.

Lets take campaign finance reform for instance. This is McCain’s

pride and joy. It has passed through the Senate and is up for

debate right now in the House.

The effect this “skunk” had on this bit of legislation is horrible. At

first, it wasn’t an issue.

Republicans looked at it as a violation of free political speech. After

it passed the Senate, House Republicans decided the way to

counter the bill was to aim at the moderates.

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, helped draft a bill that isn’t quite as

restrictive, and it’s getting the backing of many Republicans.

As a result of a moderate pushing his No. 1 issue, Congressional

liberals picked up on the ability to make the Republican party

appear as if its own members are at extreme odds with one

another.

It’s called playing politics. It was a wise political decision on behalf

of the Democrats. Pit your enemies against each other by taking

one of their sides. And obviously they aren’t going to join the side

of those furthest away from them on the political spectrum.

Then an alliance is formed, and it makes the liberals and the

moderates look good, while making the rest of the Republicans

look as if they can’t get along.

Then they counter with weak, moderate legislation as a

compromise.

When there is a real problem, moderate legislation will do nothing

in the long run.

A person may be liberal or conservative, but to mix the two is

absurd. They are opposites. All the moderate views do is give

politicians something to campaign on in the next election.

I can just hear it now, no matter the party affiliation, “I worked hard

to pass a bill to get the soft money out of Washington so the

system could be back in the hands of the people, not special

interests.”

When a Republican spews anything remotely close to that, I will be

the first to counter. I will be the first to criticize and say “no, you sold

out your ideology and our Constitution so you would not look bad.

You moderated your view, you skunk.”

It’s not just with campaign finance reform, either. The exact same

thing is happening with the patients’ bill of rights legislation.

One Republican crossed party lines, so it made others look like

they don’t care about “the people.” So they drafted a moderate

piece of similar legislation and used that for debate.

These people need to be told we don’t like them leaving their base

to please those who didn’t support them to begin with.

It will eventually come around to the Democrats and the liberals,

and they will know exactly what I am talking about.

The sick thing about this type of legislation is it appeals to the

public.

People look at as a great compromise – no one is wrong, no one

is right, we must be centered in our thinking.

Moderation is the easy way out of something. It is unproductive

and unsuccessful. It is the ultimate hypocrisy.

There is no way to describe it; it has no basis to argue from.

It is about time the skunks of the world stop spraying their odors

on the political system and look into the issues as a whole.

Moderates, make up your mind.

Zach Calef is a sophomore in journalism and mass

communication from Cedar Rapids. He is news editor of the Daily.