High Broderism – Also frequently seen as merely “Broderism.” A fetishistic attachment to bipartisanship for bipartisanship’s sake; reflexive adherence to false equivalencies, regardless of whether what one side says is patently insane. The result of forty years of believing that Dirty Fucking Hippies may be hiding under your bed. Whereby a center-right pundit, often Broder himself, decrees that bipartisanship is a good thing and can be achieved if only everyone would agree with the center-right pundit. For the last ten years or so, High Broderism has been the shorter version of virtually every op-ed from David Broder.

Like this would be something to celebrate? Apparently so:

Senator Claire McCaskill The nonpartisan National Journal released their annual rankings of members of Congress from liberal-to-conservative today-and Claire has landed exactly in the moderate middle, ranking #50 out of 100….

That is, ignoring the reality that the Overton Window has been moved so far to the right that what once was “moderate” is now considered extreme left and:

….the GOP knows that the middle DOES matter.  They know that by playing to their base in very well-crafted ways, they can shift the very definition of what the middle is. By introducing radicalism into the public discourse (and taking initial heat for it), whatever used to be radical within this context becomes moderate by comparison….

And, our “all things are equal” old media’s view is, not surprisingly:

McCaskill, Blunt land in – or near – the middle on conservative/liberal rankings

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Deirdre Shesgreen

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., found the Senate’s sweet spot, at least according to a ranking by National Journal, a nonpartisan Washington publication. The Journal released its much-anticipated annual rankings Friday, and McCaskill landed in the No. 50 slot on the liberal-to-conservative scale….

….Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was ranked as the 40th most conservative senator. Blunt landed in between Sen. Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican, and Thad Cochran, a GOP senator from Mississippi.

It’s not surprising that neither of Missouri’s two U.S. senators are at their party’s extreme ends….

[emphasis added]

Think about that last one for a second. Apparently Senator Roy Blunt (r) is considered something of a moderate because there are more people in his party in the Senate who are batshit crazy.

And ye shall know them by the company they keep.

50. Claire McCaskill, Mo. (D) 58.0 49 52 48

51. Joe Lieberman, Conn. (ID) 57.7 51 52 45

60. Thad Cochran, Miss. (R) 37.3 40 29 40

61. Roy Blunt, Mo. (R) 36.2 43 33 30

That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Forget for a moment that the National Journal‘s definition of what constitutes liberal or conservative is useless in our presently skewed political environment. If the obstructionist opposition party is populated by extremist right wingnuts you’re not a “moderate” when your party’s extreme left is labeled as the likes of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D) and you’re on the other end. It just means you’ve been pandering to the inside the beltway conventional wisdom.

X marks the spot for Senator Claire McCaskill (D): a chart created from the National Journal‘s

liberal/conservative ranking of U.S. Senators by vote.

In our present environment a true moderate would be in the middle of their own party, not to the right of it.

It’s old media’s inside the beltway cocktail weenie circuit world and they don’t want any of us barbarians to live in it.

…[laughter] And finally, new rule, if you’re going to have a rally where hundreds of thousands of people show up, you might as well go ahead and make it about something. [applause] Now, with all due respect to my friends Jon and Stephen, it seems to me that if you truly wanted to come down on the side of restoring sanity and reason you’d side with the sane and the reasonable and [applause], and not try to pretend that the insanity is equally distributed in both parties. Keith Olbermann is right, when he says he’s not the equivalent of Glenn Beck. [applause] One reports facts, the other one is very close to playing with his poop. [laughter]

And the big mistake of modern media has been this notion of balance for balance’s sake, that the left is just as violent and cruel as the right, that unions are just as powerful as corporations, that reverse racism is just as damaging as racism. There’s a difference between a mad man, and a madman…

…Now, getting over two hundred thousand people to come to a liberal rally is a great achievement, and gave me hope. And what I really loved about it was that it was twice the size of the Glenn Beck crowd on the Mall in August. [applause] Although it weighed the same. [laughter]

But the message of the rally, as I heard it, was that if the media would just stop giving voice to the crazies on both sides then maybe we could restore sanity. It was all non-partisan and urged cooperation with the moderates on the other side. Forgetting that Obama tried that and found out there are no moderates on the other side. [applause]

When, when Jon announced his rally, he said that the national conversation is dominated by people on the right who believe Obama’s a socialist and people on the left who believe nine eleven was an inside job. But I can’t name any Democratic leaders who think nine eleven was an inside job. But Republican leaders who think Obama’s a socialist? All of them. McCain, Boehner, Cantor, Palin, all of them. It’s now official Republican dogma, like tax cuts pay for themselves and gay men just haven’t met the right woman. [laughter]

As, as another example of both sides using overheated rhetoric Jon cited the right equating Obama with Hitler, and the left calling Bush a war criminal. Except thinking Obama is like Hitler is utterly unfounded, but thinking Bush is a war criminal? That’s the opinion of General Anthony Taguba, who headed the Army’s investigation into Abu Ghraib. [applause]

Republicans, you see, Republicans keep staking out a position that is further and further right and then demand Democrats meet them in the middle which is now not the middle anymore. That’s the reason health care reform is so watered down – it’s Bob Dole’s old plan from nineteen ninety-four. Same thing with cap and trade – it was the first President Bush’s plan to deal with carbon emissions. Now the Republican plan for climate change is to claim it’s a hoax. But it’s not. I know that because I’ve lived in L.A. since eighty three and there’s been a change in the city. I can see it now. [laughter] Yeah. All of us who live out here have had that experience. Oh look, there’s a mountain there. [laughter] Governments led by liberal Democrats passed laws which changed the air I breathe for the better. Okay, I’m for them. And not for the party that is, as we speak, plotting to abolish the EPA. And I don’t need to pretend that both sides have a point here. And I don’t care what left or right commentators say about it. I only care what climate scientists say about it. [applause]

Two, two opposing sides don’t necessarily have two compelling arguments. Martin Luther King spoke on that Mall in the capitol and he didn’t say, “Remember folks, those Southern sheriffs with the fire hoses and the German shepherds, they have a point too.” [laughter] No, he said, “I have a dream, they have a nightmare.” This isn’t Team Edward and Team Jacob. [laughter]

Liberals, like the ones on that field, must stand up and be counted, and not pretend that we’re as mean or greedy or short sighted or just plain batshit as they are. And if that’s too polarizing for you and you still want to reach across the aisle and hold hands and sing with someone on the right try church….

[emphasis added]

That’s why we’re here.

Somebody else gets it:

Pelosi’s Triumph

Democrats didn’t lose the battle of 2010. They won it.

By William Saletan

Posted Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, at 8:19 AM ET

….We’ve become so obsessed with who wins or loses in politics that we’ve forgotten what the winning and losing are about. Partisans fixate on punishing their enemies in the next campaign. Reporters, in the name of objectivity, refuse to judge anything but the Election Day score card. Politicians rationalize their self-preservation by imagining themselves as dynasty builders. They think this is the big picture.

They’re wrong. The big picture isn’t about winning or keeping power. It’s about using it….

[emphasis added]

Heh, we’ve said that before.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A Man of the Century

an address by William J. vanden Heuvel to the Monthly Meeting of The Century Association

Thursday, April 4, 2002

…FDR was, of course, a consummate political leader. In one situation, a group came to him urging specific actions in support of a cause in which they deeply believed. He replied: I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it…

[emphasis added]

Our previous “Overton Window” coverage:

Senator Claire McCaskill: helping keep the “Overton Window” to the right

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) defends her “moderate” bonafides on her blog:

I worked hard to help elect President Obama. I believe he will be a terrific President because he understands that change means listening and compromise, not political posturing. The way forward is almost always up the middle. I look forward to helping the President find that way forward on health care, energy, and our struggling economy. The left and the right shouting at each other hasn’t gotten much done. Red vs Blue hasn’t been very successful either.

I always try to be an independent voice for Missouri. I evaluate every issue, not as a party vote, but as a policy vote.  There is nothing about the group of moderate Democrats that undermines President Obama. Just the opposite, I believe we can help bring people together around good policy and get away from some of the nasty partisan food fights that have blocked real progress for so long.

[emphasis added]

It all depends on how one defines “middle”, eh? Let’s just not keep tugging it right.

It appears that Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) will be doing her part to keep the Overton Window right where it has been for the last eight years:

Senator Evan Bayh’s (D-Indiana) press release:

March 18, 2009

Moderate Senate Dems Launch New Group to Shape Public Policy

15 Democrats unite to pursue pragmatic solutions to nation’s problems

WASHINGTON – A diverse group of 15 Senate Democrats today announced the formation of a new moderate coalition that will meet regularly to shape public policy. The group’s goal is to work with the Senate leadership and the new administration to craft common-sense solutions to urgent national problems.

The Moderate Dems Working Group will meet every other Tuesday before the Democratic Caucus lunch to discuss legislative strategies and ideas. The Moderate Dems held their second meeting Tuesday to focus on the upcoming budget negotiations and the importance of passing a fiscally responsible spending plan in the Senate.

Leading the new group are Democratic Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Both Senators Bayh and Carper were successful governors before coming to the Senate. Senators Lincoln and Carper bring bicameral experience to the group as former members of the House of Representatives. All three leaders are honorary co-chairs of Third Way, a progressive Democratic policy group, and Senators Bayh and Carper have led the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

At the working group meeting, Senator Bayh acknowledged that such a large group was unlikely to agree on all major issues before the Senate. Yet the Moderate Dems are joined by a shared commitment to pursue pragmatic, fiscally sustainable policies across a range of issues, such as deficit containment, health care reform, the housing crisis, educational reform, energy policy and climate change.

In addition to Senators Bayh, Carper and Lincoln, others joining the group are Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Mark Warner of Virginia.

“We have a wonderful opportunity to break gridlock in Washington and accomplish big things for the American people, but we also have a responsibility to pursue sensible solutions that will work,” Bayh said. “Our group seeks to work collaboratively with the Obama administration and Senate leadership to make sure legislation is crafted in a practical way that will solve people’s problems. It’s going to take all of us working together in the Senate to get the 60 votes necessary to deliver the change the American people deserve.”

“The number of moderate Democrats has grown substantially in the past two Congresses – and in America. We can play a constructive role in helping our leadership and the Obama administration get things done in this new Congress,” Senator Carper said. “Now, more than ever, the Senate needs to put ideology aside, to find common ground on legislation, and to deliver results for the American people.”

“Arkansans are pragmatic and expect results from their leaders in Congress,” Senator Lincoln said. “I’m proud to play a constructive role as we work with the administration and Senate leadership to help reach consensus on important issues and serve as a voice for fiscal responsibility.”

Of the working group’s formation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “If we are going to deliver the change Americans demanded and move our country forward, it will require the courage to get past our political differences and get to work. Established organizations like Third Way and new ventures like this group offer us a new opportunity to get things done, and I support every effort that puts real solutions above political posturing.”

###

Joe Lieberman? I remember reading about a subcommittee chair somewhere. That could explain a lot.

Mary Landrieu?:

Mary Landrieu, the stupidest Democrat in the Senate

by kos

Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 11:10:04 AM PDT

Exhibit A:

Landrieu, however, said Democrats should not assume the worst of Republicans. She argued Democrats should give the other side a chance to come to the table and work toward a bipartisan deal.

[emphasis in original]

Yep, let’s keep that “Overton Window” right where it’s been.