Hey blogosphere, here’s a challenge.  If you consider yourself a moderate, I think you should be able to cite positions from “the other side” readily and genuinely.  Put the other way, if you consider yourself a moderate but cannot think of a single meaningful issue in which you agree with the other guys…I have a news update…you aren’t a moderate.

I bring this up on a sunny Friday, because I keep hearing liberals and conservatives alike self-identify as “moderates,” but many aren’t at all.  Being a “moderate” between the true center and extremist ideologues of your party is not a moderate, that’s being a “normal” member of your party.  Moderates, by definition, split their opinions between the two sides or take a third side altogether.

There is so much animosity right now in the political sphere that sometimes a new issue comes out, and it feels like the masses wait eagerly to find out what their side thinks so they can scream that opinion at the other side (and I see both sides do it).

One example: Trials in NYC

I am in Manhattan right now, and I am not afraid of terrorists being held to account in our court system.  Neither was Guiliani when a Republican was putting terrorists on trial.  But then a Democrat does it, and all of a sudden it is unacceptable to say, “You know, on this matter, I agree with the other side.  On this issue, we agree.”

On the flip side, I wonder how many supportive Democrats would have come out against the idea if a Republican had proposed it.

But rather than rail against everyone else’s behavior, I think we should all belly up to the table and own this issue.  I say outrage and screaming is SOOOOOO 2009.  Now, I don’t want this discussion to turn into a hippie commune.  I don’t want to hold hands with Palin and sing Kumbaya, but I do think everyone in this country should be able to talk about the other side’s positions without being bludgeoned by their own side.  It’s a culture shift, and we can drive it.

Let’s start with me…

So like any red-blooded liberal, I don’t mind higher taxes if they go towards education, healthcare, etc.  I was in favor of a stimulus, and if we need another, I am for that, too, provided the Economists say it is smart (they’re the experts).

But I agree with the other side on how the money gets spent.  I got the distinct impression that a lot of stimulus money went to pork, including pet projects for Democrats with no allowance for the last 8 years.  I get the impression that some politicking was done around timing some of the benefits.  I think that if we would have appointed a stimulus czar with a Nobel in Economics, I would have felt more confident, and I think our administration botched that and the transparency they promised.

I also part with my party on free trade.  I agree with the right on reducing restrictions of all sorts.  I believe that firmly, and that’s the second place where I agree with the other side.

Now it’s your turn

First, I would love to hear a few taxicab confessions about where people agree with the other side, and I think–quite frankly—we probably need a little of this from the right more than we need it from the left right now, and I am keen to hear both.

Second, I would love to brainstorm how to make this go viral.  How do we get people in the hot seat to admit where they agree with the other side?  It seems unreasonable that we end up with two diametrically opposed groups of people totally homogenous in their thinking, totally unwilling to break ranks.  I would love to hear how to push this forward.