Ideology, Partisanship, and the New Political Continuum

J ournalists, pollsters, and pundits use categories of political analysis that they do not always clearly define and whose meanings are ambiguous. To make sense of the political rhetoric even the informed public must struggle hard. A single news analysis in the New York Times used the following ambiguous expressions: "social conservatism," "economic conservatism," "pragmatic conservatives," "doctrinaire conservatives," "a presentable conservative," "a centrist or moderate state," and "painted as a liberal." The Economist adds to the confusion by defining one vague term by two others: Republican moderates, mostly from the Northeast, are "gypsy moths"; Democratic moderates, mostly from the South, are "boll weevils." In Values Matter Most Ben Wattenberg vilifies liberalism and liberals but never states which interests differentiate liberals from conservatives or moderates from extreme liberals or extreme conservatives. He contends that President Bill Clinton's victory in 1992 was due to the Republicans' inept campaign and Clinton's moderation rather than to his liberalism. He urged Clinton and other candidates to move to the center if they desired victory in 1996.