Centerfield

What about his pork-spending habits, you don't mention? I don't know -- but I do know that Club for Growth is against Reps who support Bush's excessive BIG gov't spending.

Either inflation, tax increases, or spending cuts will have to occur if there's a big deficit (bigger than growth grows out of).

What is his immigration stance?

Why is he a centrist? You don't quite say.

He's a "centrist" because liberal Republicans don't like to use the word "liberal."

Hey, Erick! Thanks for stopping by. Did you see my post here yesterday on your Rush Limbaugh interview? (Congratulations on that, by the way, it's a great "get".)

Erick,

Yes, thanks for stopping by. I have much respect for your work at Redstate. Although I don't always agree, I think you provide a much needed balance that was missing after Kos became popular.

Call him what you want, a liberal Republican, I don't care. For all intents and purposes I am also a liberal Republican, and I would consider most liberal Republicans or Conservative Democrats centrist with the exception of a few seem to use moderation as a way to get elected.

Are there votes on spending I wish Joe Schwarz would have not taken? Yes, but that is true for most politicians including the die hard Conservatives in the current Congress. In my view you have to look at the bigger picture. And to me the bigger picture, as a moderate, is that Joe Schwarz is a reasonable, experienced, and yes, presentable elected official for the Republican party. You know the kind we put up for exposure at the National convention to get votes, and then ignore.

The odds of the Michigan 7th going Dem in November have increased greatly. Renier is a bit of an enigma, though. How many organic farmers are small-government NRA members?

My biggest issue is the overspending in Congress. I don't see how this issue is a conservative vs. moderate thing unless overspending is now a "moderate" stance. Joe Schwarz is one of the biggest spenders in Congress and has shown no desire to stop the pork-barreling. Mr. Walberg will join Reps. Pence, Flake and others who are in the vast minority trying to fight pork spending. I wish it was the "moderates" who were leading the fight against corrupt pork-barreling, but it's not. It's about 20-50 conservative Republicans in the House and McCain and Coburn in the Senate. If Shays, Schwarz and other "moderates" would join or vote with the Republican Study Committee in their efforts to end the corrupt system, I would be more sympathetic. In fact, this is why I am more sympathetic to Sen. McCain. Despite his liberal views on campaign finance and other issues, he is staunch in his anti-pork efforts.

Besides holding the title "moderate," what did Schwarz say or do that made you like him as a representative? Sometimes I worry that too many centrists like moderates just for their title. Schwarz was a bad match for his conservative district and it is unsurprising that he lost when he had a one-on-one matchup with a conserative opponent.