The Most Popular Lie in Politics— The Dems’ Branding Problem: Who Really Owns The Word “Moderate?”

If Henry Cuellar Is a “Moderate,” Words Have No Meaning

Fake moderates Henry Cuellar and Kyrsten Sinema: corruption personified

A big mistake progressives have made over the years is to allow corrupt conservatives inside the Democratic Party own the word “moderate” as a branding tool. The reason that’s a problem is because “moderate” is the most popular word in the America political lexicon, even though it isn’t attached to any set of policies. In Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Republican strategist Frank Luntz argued that "moderate" is the most positively viewed political label because it suggests reasonableness, pragmatism, and balance, which many Americans find appealing and insinuates that the opposite— extremism— defines “the other side.”  Pew Research and Gallup have conducted studies showing that Americans often self-identify as “moderate” rather than “liberal” or “conservative,” reinforcing the word’s positive perception.

Of course, the word “moderate” is highly subjective and can mean different things depending on context, audience, and political framing. In American politics, “moderate” is used as a relative term rather than an absolute ideological category. Among Democrats, for example, “moderate” is frequently applied to politicians who are more corporate-friendly, pro-business, or socially conservative compared to the party's progressive wing. Figures like Henry Cuellar of Texas, who votes with the Republicans, is corrupt, a pawn of Big Oil and anti-Choice, is considered “the most moderate” Democrat in the House instead of the “most corrupt,” or most “anti-Choice” or most Republican leaning or most anti-Climate or any other words that would more accurately describe him. It was the same for Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate and is now true of Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), though these three cultivate the label “moderate,” rather than “conservative,” despite positions that align more with conservatives on key issues.

In the media, “moderate” is always used as shorthand for “not extreme,” but this obscures substantive policy differences. Sometimes, it is used to give a politician a more palatable image, even when their views might be considered conservative. Yesterday, just as John Fetterman— who has voted more frequently to confirm Trump’s extremist nominees than any other Senate Dem— was insisting there is no constitutional crisis Gallup released another of its twisted and misleading polls purporting to “prove” that Democrats want their party to move in a more conservative (“moderate”) direction.

Although Democratic voters overwhelmingly oppose racism, xenophobia, homophobia, corporate capture, corruption, tax cuts for the rich, union busting, gun absolutism, Christian nationalism, school privatization, the further shredding of the social safety net, Climate denial, voter suppression, misogyny, militarism and other hallmarks of American conservatism, Google would have you believe that Democratic voters are embracing conservatism. Without defining “moderate,” Gallup claims in their first sentence that “In the wake of the 2024 election and Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term as president, a plurality of Democrats would like their party to become more moderate. while a similar plurality of Republicans favor the status quo for their party.”

This is how the mainstream media, guided by the Republican Party and partisan media, have been able to define the Democratic Party as a party that is all about trans men in girls’ sports and open borders rather than tax fairness, anti-trust policies and a true progressive agenda, which has historically been

• The American Revolution

• The Bill of Rights and the forging of a democracy

• Universal white male suffrage

• Public education

• The emancipation of the slaves

• The national park system

• Food safety

• The breakup of monopolies

• The Homestead Act

• Land grant universities

• Rural electrification

• Women’s suffrage

• The abolition of child labor

• The eight hour workday

• The minimum wage

• Social Security

• Civil rights for minorities and women

• Voting rights for minorities and the poor

• Cleaning up our air, our water, and toxic dump sites

• Consumer product safety

• Medicare and Medicaid

The fight over language is a fight over power. If Democrats continue letting corporate conservatives co-opt the word “moderate,” they’ll keep ceding ideological ground without a battle. Voters aren’t demanding a more “moderate” party— they’re demanding a party that stands for them, free from the influence of billionaires and right-wing narratives. The progressive agenda has always been the backbone of American progress. Isn’t it time to reclaim the words, the history, and the future?