Of course the diary on the Rec list discussing Klein's assertion that Obama is essentially a moderate Republican is getting a lot of buzz.
There's a pretty fundamental problem with this assertion:
It rests on the idea that Republicans have principles. They do not.
There are no moderate Republicans. There are simply corporate politicians and politicians that choose to represent people over corporations. All Republicans are corporate politicians.
First off, Republicans don't have principles. They do what Wall Street tells them to do. If Wall Street all of a sudden believes in gov't spending to avert a Depression, Republicans conspire to make sure they get it.
To understand how political identities shift over time, one simply need understand the purpose of the modern GOP. The big business forces that control the modern GOP have worn many political masks over time but their agenda is consistent. The purpose of the modern GOP isn't to stand for so-called conservative social/economic principles, it's to prevent legislation from being written under any Democratic majority unless it is pro-Wall Street and anti-worker. Sometimes government spending is pro-Wall Street, sometimes not. It's not the spending Republicans care about, it's who gets the money.
Republicans work for Wall Street - unilaterally. There are no Republicans who are outside of that box. Some like Ron Paul are simply more clever in hiding it. The Wall Street agenda is to prevent legislation from being written and to take legislation off the books when possible. The more government's hands are tied, the more incapable it is of enforcing regulations or providing things that could be provided at more than twice the cost in the free market... the happier Wall Street is and the more successful Republican politicians are.
American politics must be understood in terms of a greyscale that runs from pro-corporate to pro-citizen. About half the Democratic party at any one time can be considered pro-citizen. Everyone else in government is pro-corporate. That is the nature of our democracy. Of course some Democrats ride the cusp (Obama is one of these), but no Republicans exist at this location on the greyscale. Therefore, there are no moderate Republicans, only corporate Republicans.
There is no such thing as a "moderate Republican," because this would mean that there are ideals or values that go along with that label. No such values or ideals exist in the Republican party.
They're there simply to block pro-citizen Democrats from enacting laws, when they can.
That's it.
If Obama had been president in the 1990's and he had proposed moderate or conservative Democratic legislation with some Republican ideas in it (like today), Republicans would have unilaterally voted against it. It doesn't matter what's in the bill, the point for Republicans is to oppose ALL legislation they can get away with opposing, unless of course it is unilaterally pro-corporate.
Obama could propose almost anything and there would be near universal Republican opposition to it. He could propose giving in to almost every so-called "moderate Republican" talking point, and he wouldn't pick up any Republican voting blocks in Congress. None. It's not about ideas for them, it's about removing laws and drowning government in the bathtub.
Of course one also has to acknowledge the problem Obama faces wrt his race as well, as this only adds to Republican opposition. He's toxic for Republican politicians to be seen partnering with, because their voting base is almost universally racist.
But the problem for Obama isn't just Republicans. It's the Republicans who call themselves Democrats in our party. Because they often don't vote for his legislation either.
The Republicans who have floated over to vote for some of the Democrats' bills did so not because they have principles (as is proven over and over when they refuse to vote for things they once supported). They floated over simply because the insiders in Congress decided that something needed to be passed, and some corporate Democrats conspired with some Republicans to vote in ways that would protect their seats and appease their voters.
There is no such thing as a "moderate Republican." It's a fabrication and a critical misunderstanding of American politics. Some of these so-called "moderate" Republicans like Romney would actually be the most successful in moving forward the most pro-corporate anti-worker legislation possible. Their branding as "moderates" is simply an effective way to enable them to do that - as was Bush's fake "compassionate conservative" label and Reagan's fake commercial brand of moderation.
All Republicans work for Wall Street and are in office to prevent legislation from being passed when possible. They do not vote according to their imaginary principles but rather in accordance with a scripted narrative devised by corporate Democrats and Republicans.
To acknowledge the concept of "moderate Republicans" is to misunderstand American politics and the purpose of the entire Republican party.
There are no moderate Republicans. All Republicans are pro-corporate anti-worker/anti-citizen politicians and by definition that is not a moderate position in a democracy that's meant to represent people.
We shouldn't play along with this trumped up debate. We shouldn't even legitimize the bogus concept of a moderate Republican.
Obama is a politician who rides the cusp in the Democratic party between being pro-corporate and pro-citizen. That makes him a moderate Democrat, not a moderate Republican - if such a thing were to even exist, which it doesn't.