The “Moderate” Label

What is a “moderate”?

That question comes to mind as I watch coverage of the U.S. Republican presidential candidate nomination campaign. The battle among the Republican candidates has been somewhat of a free-for-all, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney still seems to be the frontrunner. Most of the coverage of Romney in the U.S. and Japan describes him as a “moderate.”

According to the New Political Dictionary published by political columnist William Safire in the 1970s, “moderate” in American politics is defined as “positioned slightly to the left of center; a word more acceptable to conservatives than liberal, more dynamic than middle-of-the-roader."

In that case, the word “moderate” is a neutral expression that implies neither praise nor criticism on the part of the person using it. However, the word has recently taken on a negative meaning and is being used to attack Romney. People such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who is held up as a conservative, call Romney a “moderate”; when they do so, they are openly criticizing him by saying that he does not sufficiently embody the conservatism for which the Republican Party strives.

Then what is a conservative? First of all, a conservative is someone who values “small government” (a government with a limited role that restricts spending), “self-reliance” (limited social welfare), and “free competition”; promotes a “strong defense” that prizes national security; and respects traditional American values and customs in regard to social issues. Thus, when Romney is judged as being “a moderate, not a conservative,” it calls up an image of him turning his back on this conservative value system.

However, an objective look at Romney’s political views — such as his espousal of tax cuts, spending cuts, a balanced budget, and a strong defense — shows that he is unmistakably conservative, especially in comparison to President Barack Obama. Romney has even called for a total repeal of Obama’s health care reforms.

Those who call Romney a moderate point to his promotion of a public health care system for Massachusetts residents, and to his one-time support for “freedom of choice” in abortions when he was Governor of Massachusetts. However, he has opposed public health care at the federal level and he now opposes abortion, which makes him a conservative. He does not espouse any other policies that are particularly non-conservative or anti-conservative.

Bruce Weinrod, director of the Heritage Foundation and a longtime student of American conservatism, has said, “Romney is a conservative, which is obvious from the support that he already has from mainstream conservative New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.”* Weinrod has indicated two reasons why Romney is called a moderate. The first is the other Republican candidates’ strategy of attempting to separate Romney from the majority conservative wing of the party. Another is that when he was governor of the most liberal state in America, he was in an environment where it was difficult to strengthen conservatism.

On top of that, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic-leaning major media outlets have been stressing Romney’s “moderateness.” If Romney ultimately wins the Republican nomination, the Democratic Party likely sees him as their toughest opponent in the presidential election. Thus, they are spreading the label of “Romney, the moderate” in an attempt to prevent his nomination. The lesson in all this is that political labels should be regarded with great caution.


*Editor's note: This quote, though accurately translated, could not be verified.