Legal Commentary

Fun With Labels

By Big Tent Democrat

I always refer to my self as a Centrist, in part because I think it is expedient, but really, I think I pretty much am a Centrist, in the sense that my views fall pretty much in the middle of opinion in the country. In the Beltway, probably I would be Left, but the Beltway is a bubble all its own.

I tell you this as a preface to commenting on this from Matt Yglesias:

Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals by a large margin and moderates are a much bigger force in the Democratic coalition than in the Republican one. So if you want a deal, appointing an orthodox conservative Republican and a moderate Democrat from North Carolina makes a lot of sense.

This is fun with labels nonsense. The Catfood Commission's proposals are filled with proposals that not only are bad, they are far outside the mainstream of what Americans want, and, more relevantly, what Congress will ever approve. I mean really - eliminate the mortgage interest deduction is going to happen? Cutting Social Security benefits is going to happen? Never. Ever. The Catfood Commission proposal is unserious and unSerious. What might it be about? I dunno, but Yglesias' post is silly.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 12, 2010 (boomark / email).