# What/who are the moderate Republicans these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 16, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237 "2012-11-16T20:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Linden\_Arden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Linden\_Arden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linden_Arden)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/41 "2012-11-18T23:39:59Z")
Susan Collins (Maine Senator) among the few 2012 survivors. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/42 "2012-11-19T12:10:23Z")
do you think in light of the current political landscape the GOP will shift to more moderate ideals? i see it already happening to a degree (hannity immediately declaring flipfloppery on immigration, newty’s diatribe on “crazy romney.”) maybe i’m wrong, but think if the GOP ever wants to regain ground, they’ll need become much more moderate. i think hardline right is just not palatable any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/43 "2012-11-19T14:11:38Z")
> [@Linden\_Arden](#): > > Susan Collins (Maine Senator) among the few 2012 survivors. She is up again in 2014. in 2014 the club for growth has labeled Lindsey graham one of their highest priority targets, so now Lindsey Graham is too liberal. I don’t know if Collins will survive a primary if the Maine tea party is still functional. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/44 "2012-11-19T14:17:37Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > do you think in light of the current political landscape the GOP will shift to more moderate ideals? > > i see it already happening to a degree (hannity immediately declaring flipfloppery on immigration, newty’s diatribe on “crazy romney.”) > > maybe i’m wrong, but think if the GOP ever wants to regain ground, they’ll need become much more moderate. i think hardline right is just not palatable any longer. My (biased) impression is that the hardline GOP thinks reality exists to serve them, and reality is not some objective standard. So I don’t know about that. They seem inside a bubble and any attempt to get them to admit that their ideology doesn’t work in objective reality is going to be a massive uphill climb. I saw far far more conservatives claiming that america failed conservatism by claiming Americans are too lazy, entitled and stupid to grasp how great conservatism is after losing the election (all the talk about gifts and the death of the real america, etc) than I saw conservatives attempt to moderate their positions to stop alienating everyone except angry, entitled white people. Newt is a crass opportunist so I don’t take what he says seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/45 "2012-11-19T14:56:02Z")
These days, a moderate Republican is one who believes that when a woman has an abortion, the mandatory ultrasound rape-wand can have some lubricant applied to it first. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/46 "2012-11-19T15:23:45Z")
It must, however, be stored in the refrigerator until used. More sanitary that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/47 "2012-11-19T15:39:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It must, however, be stored in the refrigerator until used. More sanitary that way. Get your filthy regulations out of here hippy! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/48 "2012-11-19T15:46:39Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > To review my dream for a better America: > > 1. GOP tells the Tea-Partiers and their ilk that they are no longer welcome > > 2. Tea-Party, et.al. creates a far-right Bat-Shit Party which is promptly marginalized > > 3. GOP returns to rationality (and also moves somewhat Center-ward) > > 4. Dems move somewhat Left-ward to distinguish themselves from the “new” GOP, thereby more genuinely reflecting the values of liberal/progressives > > 5. Knuckle-dragging, backward, sexist, racist, theocrats are banished to the wilderness. > > 6. Profit!! (In terms of the American political discourse.) It might even work better than that for Republicans. Some of the votes they lose to the new batshit party will put some batshit representatives in the house. Who are they going to caucus with? The Republicans. Otherwise they’re irrelevant. So the Republicans can throw away the cake and still eat it, too. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/49 "2012-11-19T17:25:39Z")
I’ll admit I don’t know a heck of a lot about the guy, but Bobby Jindahl’s recent post-election comments about the direction the Republicans need to be taking struck me as fairly moderate. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/50 "2012-11-19T17:31:06Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > To review my dream for a better America: > > 1. GOP tells the Tea-Partiers and their ilk that they are no longer welcome > > 2. Tea-Party, et.al. creates a far-right Bat-Shit Party which is promptly marginalized > > 3. GOP returns to rationality (and also moves somewhat Center-ward) > > 4. Dems move somewhat Left-ward to distinguish themselves from the “new” GOP, thereby more genuinely reflecting the values of liberal/progressives > > 5. Knuckle-dragging, backward, sexist, racist, theocrats are banished to the wilderness. > > 6. Profit!! (In terms of the American political discourse.) Of course, it could work the other way – Tea Party takes over GOP completely, Dems fill the center-right, new progressive party to the Dems’ left emerges. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/51 "2012-11-19T17:34:41Z")
Although that seems unlikely ---
**Author:** ![ed\_anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbce88/32.png) [@ed\_anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ed_anger)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/52 "2012-11-19T18:31:22Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Chris Christie might be the closest. But even there he’s certainly to the right of the classical Rockefeller Republicans. Bloomberg ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/53 "2012-11-19T18:49:49Z")
Bloomberg? The crazy anti-gun billionaire? Can’t see him surviving any primaries. Nor would I want him to. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/54 "2012-11-19T18:55:36Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > I’ll admit I don’t know a heck of a lot about the guy, but Bobby Jindahl’s recent post-election comments about the direction the Republicans need to be taking struck me as fairly moderate. The rhetoric is welcome, to be sure. But please let’s not forget. While I am awash with newfound respect for Chris Christie for example, this does not make his policy positions evaporate. There’s nothing particularly moderate about most Republicans. The moderates are Democrat. There are very few actual liberal Democrats. The centrists are either independent or Democrat at this point. See: Charlie Crist. These are “moderate” talking points which will make the Republican party instantly seem less extreme and partisan, while effecting zero new actual policy changes from their previous positions of extremism. When they begin voting more moderately and with a bipartisan spirit in Congress, for any substantial period of time, then they will have become moderate. Not before then. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/55 "2012-11-19T18:56:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Bloomberg? The crazy anti-gun billionaire? > > Can’t see him surviving any primaries. Nor would I want him to. Yeah, the guy who wants to regulate the size of sodas? Not gonna happen. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/56 "2012-11-19T18:57:53Z")
> [@ed\_anger](#): > > Bloomberg Not officially a Republican any more, right? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/57 "2012-11-19T19:42:28Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Now, who are national moderate republicans? Chafee’s gone, Snow & Collins are still there, but don’t have much of a following outside of Maine. Huntsman caught my eye for a bit, but he seems to have vanished too. Snowe’s out. Didn’t seek re-election because she was so tired of the hyper-partisanship. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/58 "2012-11-19T20:51:18Z")
> [@Askthepizzaguy](#): > > Tax cuts create invisible fictional jobs, which helps Republicans defeat invisible fictional Obama. FTW! But remember, the invisible fictional jobs require an extensive support structure of lies which are clearly visible to anyone whose eyes are not perpetually turned to Bullshit Mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/59 "2012-11-19T22:09:08Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Bloomberg? The crazy anti-gun billionaire? > > Can’t see him surviving any primaries. Nor would I want him to. Bloomberg isn’t crazy. And during the 1970s and 1980s plenty of Republicans supported gun control. It’s popular in urban areas. Bloomberg is truly an impressive individual. The company he started was and is highly innovative. It makes solid products. He has been a good mayor of NYC. And the soda thing at least is addressing a real problem, whatever its shortcomings. Obviously he has no chance of further advance in the Republican Party. OTOH, he’s not really aiming for that: he isn’t a man of empty ambition. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237/60 "2012-11-19T22:20:38Z")
Honestly. Bloomberg is a control freak. He’s kind of crazy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-who-are-the-moderate-republicans-these-days/641237.md?page=4)