A Manifesto for Moderates | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Anyone observing today's political landscape cannot escape the domination from the conservative right and the liberal left. Both are loud and active advocates for their positions, but what is missing from current public policy debates are those in the moderate middle. Where do they stand and why are they so quiet?

    These missing moderates are largely people with long-standing beliefs that a good citizen is one who pays taxes, votes on election day, provides for their families and neither creates nor participates in protests and disturbances. Richard Nixon dubbed them "the silent majority."

    Do not consider their silence as satisfaction for what we are witnessing. Many complain that today's polarized climate prevents meaningful discussion and resolution of issues. If you mistakenly believe moderates don't have strong opinions let us assure you such is not the case; moderates frequently have passionate beliefs, siding with the left on some issues and the right on others. Moderates aren't generally asked their opinions and are largely ignored when they offer them.

    North Carolina has historically been considered a politically moderate, perhaps slightly conservative state. Following the Civil War, Republicans dominated state elections until Democrats took over at the turn of the 20th century, holding power for about 100 years. But yesterday's political parties were much different than those today. Both have swung further to the left or right of the mainstream, often ignoring or drowning out moderates in either party.

    The moderate middle is no small number. Of the 6.7 million registered voters in North Carolina as of June 3rd, 39.08 percent are registered Democrats, 30.37 percent are registered Republicans and 30.05 are registered as Unaffiliated. Since January 2015, Democratic registrations have declined 2.5 percentage points, Republicans have lost one-tenth of a percent, meanwhile significant gains have come from Unaffiliated registrations, increasing more than 2.5 percent.

    It would be a fallacy to conclude that all unaffiliated registrants are moderates, because some percentage of them almost always votes for Republican candidates and some vote only for Democrats. But remember that all had a chance to designate their registration for one political party or the other and chose not to do so. Why? We are convinced they chose to be unaffiliated because they couldn't wholly support the positions taken by either party, qualifying them by our definition as moderates - those dissatisfied with today's highly partisan and divisive political environment.

    Jesus told the crowd at the Sermon on the Mount that the meek shall inherit the earth. No doubt humility and a desire for the common good is the better course, but in this era we have concluded that being silent - sometimes perceived as being absent - from public policy participation isn't working well for our state and nation.

    Now is the time for the missing moderates to take six essential actions. Let's call it the Moderate Manifesto. First, show up and be present. Next, be assertive. Third, demand a return to civility in public debate. Fourth, demonstrate a willingness to listen to and consider different opinions. Fifth, be willing to compromise to achieve what is best for the most. Finally, they must support and vote for candidates of either party who pledge to follow the Manifesto. If those elected don't perform accordingly, vote them out and elect others who will.

    Publisher's note: Tom Campbell is former assistant North Carolina State Treasurer and is creator/host of NC SPIN, a weekly statewide television discussion of NC issues airing Sundays at 11:00 am on WITN-TV. Contact Tom at NC Spin.