Centerfield

Bipartisan Centrism

Perhaps it's a small matter, but it's also unusual and quite promising.

Centrists.org has become the first centrist think tank to associate itself explicitly with moderates and centrists in both major parties. Up to this point, most politically active moderates have organized in separate groups in the two major parties. The Democratic Leadership Council and the Republican Main Street Partnership are the two largest centrist groups, both having grown into vibrant centers of policy inquiry, exploration, and exchange between leading moderate public officials.

There's always been some level of appreciation for one another. The DLC, for example, recently published a flattering farewell piece on outgoing EPA administrator Christine Todd-Whitman, a leading moderate Republican.

Now we have Centrists.org, a think tank started by folks from the Progressive Policy Institute and the New America Foundation. They may have stronger Democratic connections than Republican ones, given the PPI's association with the DLC. But they explicitly embrace a cross-partisan approach to centrist politics:

There is a longstanding reform movement within the Democratic party. The “New Democrats” of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and its affiliated think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), generally favor market solutions, trade, and government reform within progressive politics. The New Democrat Network (NDN) is a PAC for New Democrat candidates. Conservative Democrats in the House have formed the Blue Dog coalition, which is especially active and successful in budget dealings.

Moderate Republicans have also organized a coalition and PAC, the Republican Main Street Partnership. It was successful recently in trimming the size of the Administration’s latest tax cut plan.

These centrist political movements have great potential. But they need help, especially in policy matters. So far, centrists on both sides of the aisle have had difficulty finding common issues and practical policy proposals to unite behind.

This is a serious bunch, with detailed and carefully constructed proposals on health care, budget and tax policy, and social security reform.

Theirs is one of two places I'm inclined to visit, now, when I wonder what a serious, informed, and balanced person would recommend on a specific issue. (The other is the Committee for Economic Development.)

Posted by William Swann at August 28, 2003 09:08 AM