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Moderate Democrats are not moderates
The tallest of Snow White’s dwarfs is not tall. The cheapest Tesla is not “cheap.” And, moderate Democrats are not “moderates.” Not by any standard of what we used to mean by moderate.
Pennsylvania’s two leading Democrats — Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator John Fetterman — underscore it. Even if one believes they say moderate things, compared to their fellow Democrats, their votes and records prove they’re not moderates.
Any attempt to label them moderates is an attempt not only to mask their progressive views, it papers over the reality that today’s Democratic Party is built around a left-wing platform, many clicks to the left of what it was just a generation ago.
Even more than Republicans, elected Democrats vote the same way, and their activists demand unity of thought. So we take note when we hear any deviation in substance or tone (which is really important in the suburbs.).
Throughout 2024 and even during year one of President Trump’s second term, there are Republicans who publicly disagree with the President, vote against him or even try to block his policy goals. Moreover, there are elected Republicans who partner with Democrats on issues—from “libertarian” Congressman Thomas Massie to Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick; from Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski to South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, legislators who on any given issue might be Trump’s most passionate defender or his most vocal critic.
There are important distinctions. No one thinks Thomas Massie is a moderate. Some think Lindsey Graham is. However, neutral commentators accurately see Lisa Murkowski and Brian Fitzpatrick as moderates — working in a bipartisan way on issues.
Isolated acts of independent thought have caused many commentators to refer to Shapiro and Fetterman as moderates. It’s actually the near unanimity of priorities, votes, language and temperament among Democrats that draws attention to any elected Democrat who deviates from the script.
Ironically, moderate is a title that Josh Shapiro craves as a candidate for reelection as Pennsylvania’s governor, yet, one that he’ll reject faster than a “Schwarbomb” leaves Citizens Bank Park when campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Senator Fetterman is notable for his clarion call to protect Jewish Americans against antisemitic rhetoric, rallies and violence — and support of Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of the barbaric attacks of October 7 (hostages from which are still being tortured in captivity.)
His independence on this issue even had his fellow Democrats and legacy media allies cruelly suggesting that he has mental health issues.
Fetterman had another episode of “independence” during the recent riots in Los Angeles. He rightly stated that it was wrong to riot, attack innocent people, and burn police cars.
Yet, review his actual voting record. He’s for legalizing abortion on demand up until the moment of birth; allowing men to play women’s high school and college sports; legalizing recreational marijuana; and opposing school choice. He gets a 100 percent rating from the AFL-CIO. He has frequently described climate change as an “existential threat.” In his first two years, he was rated as the second most “left” freshman Senator.
Fetterman is a card-carrying progressive — with an independent streak, whether progressives want to admit it. He’s no moderate.
Shapiro. The starched shirt, tie-less, Brooks Brothers suit wearing politician — right out of suburban central casting — is often referred to as a moderate.
Yet Shapiro supports abortion on demand and without apology. He is so pro-abortion that he is the only governor in Pennsylvania history to veto funding for “crisis pregnancy centers” — certified care centers that offer information, medical and financial support for women who are scared and feel they have no option but to abort their baby. Something that not even “Lockdown Tom Wolf” did. He’s even sued the Little Sisters of the Poor to force them to offer abortion “care” in their employee health insurance coverage.
Shapiro has introduced three state budgets. Each one planned to spend more money than the state had, and tried to raise fees or taxes. Shapiro attacked those wanting to protect women’s sports from men as “extremists.” When he’s not tweeting about abortion, he tweets about the latest LGBTQIA+ issue. In fact, he’s joining with Democrat governors to sue Trump to allow hospitals to perform gender surgery on minors — even using taxpayer funding.
Being Jewish, he has rightly spoken out against anti-Semitic rhetoric. This causes Shapiro to (sadly) stand out. Yet, he still advocates the Democrats’ “two-state solution” that even Palestinians oppose.
He says he’s for school choice, yet he vetoed legislation to enact it— Lifeline Scholarships. He attends natural gas energy conferences, yet he’s suing in the Supreme Court to defend his right to unilaterally impose taxes and regulations that punish natural gas use.
Commentators occasionally label Shapiro as a moderate. This is possibly because of his appearance and tone — or because of who he isn’t: AOC or Jasmine Crockett. But his spending, energy, education, social and cultural policies, tweets, and vetoes are those of a progressive. It’s false advertising to describe his record as moderate.
Today’s Democrats support higher taxes. They supported vaccine and mask mandates — including firing soldiers, police, and nurses who didn’t comply. They oppose school choice. They oppose Trump’s border wall and policies. They support abortion on demand up through delivery — some after delivery! They support men playing women’s sports. They support an ever-evolving laundry list of genders. They supported “defund the police.” They defended antisemitic rhetoric and rallies. They want to ban fossil fuels.
Commentators rushing to label them as moderates says more about the left-wing agenda of 2025 Democrats than it does about Fetterman or Shapiro. One may argue that they’re moderate Democrats, but one cannot accurately label them moderates.
After all, the tallest of the dwarfs isn’t tall by any measure.
Guy Ciarrocchi writes for Broad + Liberty and RealClear Pennsylvania. A Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation, you should follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.
LMFAO this article is a pile of garbage. Let’s debunk all his nonsense one by one
-“Men playing women’s sports” literally isn’t a thing. There are less than 10 instances of it nationally. Democrats think such a miniscule issue should be handled by athletic institutions. Republicans think the federal government should control sports. Which is more “radical”?
-Regardless of one’s opinions on hospitals performing gender affirming surgeries on minors, it is NOT up to the federal government to control hospitals and tell them what they can and cannot do. This is a matter of states rights and the rights of private institutions.
-Late term abortions are also extraordinarily rare and only occur when the health of the mother is in jeopardy. As for the those disastrous crisis pregnancy centers, they are known to lie to women and give them false information about abortions. Abortions literally never happen “after birth” unless the fetus is dead or dying.
-Shapiro had no choice but to veto the school choice measure because there was no way to pass the budget otherwise. Most Pennsylvanians don’t support school choice. A school choice measure failed by a landslide in deep red Kentucky last year. That means school choice is not popular with anyone.
-This author still is butthurt about covid, even though the pandemic is over and the vaccine mandate has been overturned by the Supreme Court. No Democrats are advocating to try and bring those mandates back. And be that as it may, there’s zero excuses as to why an unvaccinated person shouldn’t be forced to wear a mask at work. What about people who are vulnerable to covid and other sicknesses? They don’t matter?
-Shapiro doesn’t support banning fossil fuels. Very few Democrats actually do. The industry has done quite well under his tenure. There’s a reason why he’s popular in western PA, but far left Democrats like AOC and Crockett aren’t.
-Trump literally freed insurrectionists who attempt to murder police officers during the insurrection, so this author has no right to say Democrats are opposed to the police. None. As it relates to Shapiro, the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed him in 2022. They likely will again next year. Hell, Spanberger just got the endorsement of the Virginia police because Sears supports those insurrectionists. More Democratic nominees will in other states as well.
“That means school choice is not popular with anyone.”
Really? You actually meant that since it’s not popular with Pennsylvania teacher unions, it’s not popular with Shapiro. It’s overwhelmingly popular with parents, especially Philadelphia parents, whose kids are stuck in shitty schools, getting a shitty education.
Poll: School choice support defies partisanship in Pennsylvania
By Christen Smith | The Center Square Apr 30, 2025
“(The Center Square) – A recent poll suggests that support for school choice doesn’t hinge on any political affiliation, age, ethnicity, region or 2024 presidential vote.
Rather, across all demographics, as many as two-thirds of respondents support the concept of educational scholarships that offer state funding directly to families to fund private school tuition.
Support for the policy reached as high as 56% among Democrats and Kamala Harris voters – a significant figure given the party’s historical opposition to it.
Ragnar Research Partners interviewed 800 likely voters in person between March 15 and 17. The results showed 84% of Republicans, 79% of independents and 56% of Democrats supported the idea.
Support among Black and Hispanic voters was 82% and 80%, respectively. Among white voters, favorability dropped to 70%. Meanwhile, three out of four younger voters under age 44 expressed support for school choice, compared to 72% for those under 64 and 65.5% for those 65 and older.
At least two-thirds of voters in every region of the state also approve of the concept, with the highest rates measured in urbanized communities like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Harrisburg.
Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children Growth Fund, lamented that despite the state’s early adoption of school choice tax credits two decades ago, the commonwealth has fallen far behind its neighbors.
“These polling results are crystal clear – Pennsylvania voters want expanded school choice,” he said. “Educational freedom for families continues to receive overwhelming support across political, geographic and demographic categories.”
source: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_0c32c760-6239-40b3-93a0-59a0dfe88f8c.html
I don’t have the time to dissect the comment. I do want to point out the assertion that late term abortions are rare, I would refer to the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell regarding abortions and for further information The University of Pittsburgh program of harvesting fetal body parts for sale. As to children and gender change surgery, children are not at a developmental stage where they can make informed, rational decisions on gender change surgery. It is probably the only surgery where it is asserted that minors have the mental capacity to understand what the consequences are and can commit to a lifetime of consequences, the problem arises when the parents are overridden by the doctor/hospital complex asserting it is child abuse to not do as the child wishes and allow the surgery.