The Myth of "Cetrism" Debunked

Steve Wiegand debunks the myth of "cetrism" in the Sacramento Bee today, and I couldn't agree more with Mr. Wiegand. Centrism is a misunderstood idea - people believe that centrism is the solution to complex problems - it is not. The "fever swamps" of the political left and the political right tend to be the incubators of ideas - solutions to complex problems. Given the profuound difference in philosophical approaches, the ideas often clash. The clash of ideas is a good thing, it provokes (what should be) a healthy debate; and, as Mr. Wiegand recognizes, when people negotiate in good faith problems get solved. What has been lacking is a civility in the debate - a commitment to integrity in the negotiation. What needs to be changed is not the philosophical beliefs of our representatives; it is the way they behave. We need more statesmen and fewer partisan self-promoters.

The following contains excerpts from Mr. Wiegand's article; I highly recommend reading the entire article here.

Centrism is highly overrated
By Steve Wiegand - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, November 11, 2006

There have been a lot of warm and fuzzy self-congratulations since Tuesday's election about how California voters and candidates -- particularly Arnold Schwarzenegger -- have met in the middle of the political spectrum.

…But before we all join hands and sing 10 or 12 verses of "Kumbaya," let's peer a little harder at reality.

Schwarzenegger won big, and he's a Reep. Whoop-de-do. Six of the last 10 California governors have been Republican. In fact, since 1899, we've had exactly four -- count 'em, four -- Democratic governors.

Plus, let's face it, Skippy the Wonder Possum could have whupped Phil Angelides.

It's true that through "bipartisan cooperation," the Legislature and governor enacted bills that raise the minimum wage, aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make some prescription drugs cheaper for Californians without medical insurance.

That is if you define "bipartisan cooperation" as the governor cutting deals with Democratic lawmakers. And if you ignore the fact that of the 138 Republican legislative votes that could have been cast for those three bills, exactly six were.

Instead of a true centrist "bipartisan" core, what we had was a governor willing to bend to get re-elected, and a majority of Democrats willing to help him to further their own agendas. But the guv becomes a lame duck about five seconds into his inaugural address. And he's bound to be out stumping for the GOP presidential hopeful in 2008.

...The let's-all-be-friends-in-the-middle sentiment notwithstanding, there's nothing wrong with conflicting political ideologies in state politics. In fact, the idea of approaching problems from different perspectives can increase the number and quality of the solutions for them, as long as the parties are willing to negotiate in good faith.

…Besides, centrism is overrated. As the Texas philosopher Jim Hightower once observed, "There's nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos."

I'll take civility and independent thinking over that.