Friday, April 13, 2012

Moderation in all things

When political labels lose all meaning (H/T Professor Reynolds):

Rep. Chuck Kruger (D-Thomaston), the Democrat chair of the Maine legislature’s Moderate Caucus, used his Twitter account to express his view that former Vice President Dick Cheney should be executed. This comment has led some to question the validity of Kruger’s moderate credentials.

I guess it would. So what did this solon have to say?

Kruger made the statement through his Twitter account this past summer, saying, “Cheney deserves same final end he gave Saddam. Hope there are cell cams,” a reference to technology that would allow Kruger to watch the proposed execution of the former Vice President of the United States.

The thing is, the term "moderate" means something else in Maine:

The ‘moderate’ label in Maine has become fashionable as of late, as several prominent Democrats have shed their party affiliation in order to capitalize on the tradition of successful moderate political figures from Margaret Chase Smith to Olympia Snowe.  In the limelight this year is former Democrat Angus King, who has resurrected his ‘independent’ political identity to fuel his run for U.S. Senate. Though King professes inclinations toward the political center by refusing to indicate which party he would caucus with, most political observers believe he would act as a functional Democrat in the Senate.
Well, yes. Then again, Smith and Snowe often have acted as functional Democrats, too.



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