The Death of the Moderate Democrat

THE scene is one of those Washington cocktail parties so hated by left-wing “netroots” activists-a gathering where politicians and pundits and inside-the-Beltway types meet to gossip, conspire, make deals, and generally sink farther into their morass of inside-the-Beltway corruption. One prominent member of Congress says to a prominent political analyst: “You know, if you think about it, Nancy Pelosi is pretty close to the center of the House Democratic caucus.” It seems hard to believe, given that Pelosi, the Minority Leader, is a true-blue San Francisco liberal with a near-perfect 95 rating from the left-wing Americans for Democratic Action. But the analyst starts thinking, starts envisioning the House Democratic lineup, beginning on the left with the Black Caucus, and then the Hispanic Caucus, and then the white lefties, and then Pelosi. In that cast of characters, the congresswoman from San Francisco seems almost, well, centrist. “That doesn’t mean she’s a moderate,” the analyst says, recalling the conversation at the party. “But the Democratic caucus has gone so far to the left that, hell, she’s in the middle.”

There’s been much talk in Washington recently about the fate of “moderate Democrats.” These days, Nancy Pelosi is a moderate Democrat-if that is defined as standing near the center of the party’s ideological spectrum. But the truly moderate Democrat—the type of centrist that has been so maligned by the left-wing blogosphere-is pretty much a thing of the past. Just look at a few numbers.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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THE scene is one of those Washington cocktail parties so hated by left-wing “netroots” activists-a gathering where politicians and pundits and inside-the-Beltway types meet to gossip, conspire, make deals, and generally sink farther into their morass of inside-the-Beltway corruption. One prominent member of Congress says to a prominent political analyst: “You know, if you think about it, Nancy Pelosi is pretty close to the center of the House Democratic caucus.” It seems hard to believe, given that Pelosi, the Minority Leader, is a true-blue San Francisco liberal with a near-perfect 95 rating from the left-wing Americans for Democratic Action. But the analyst starts thinking, starts envisioning the House Democratic lineup, beginning on the left with the Black Caucus, and then the Hispanic Caucus, and then the white lefties, and then Pelosi. In that cast of characters, the congresswoman from San Francisco seems almost, well, centrist. “That doesn’t mean she’s a moderate,” the analyst says, recalling the conversation at the party. “But the Democratic caucus has gone so far to the left that, hell, she’s in the middle.”

There’s been much talk in Washington recently about the fate of “moderate Democrats.” These days, Nancy Pelosi is a moderate Democrat-if that is defined as standing near the center of the party’s ideological spectrum. But the truly moderate Democrat—the type of centrist that has been so maligned by the left-wing blogosphere-is pretty much a thing of the past. Just look at a few numbers.