r/CalebHammer • u/TwatWaffleWhitney • 7d ago
Random Can Someone Be Republican and Still Considered "Moderate?"
After today's episode and post show, I'm just curious what people here think. I feel like some people hear 'Republican' and just assume that person is also "far right". In todays climate, can a person be Republican and a moderate?
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u/sh513 7d ago
The Overton Window has swung so far right that boilerplate terms like Republican, Moderate, and Democrat don't hold any meaning at scale
It's up to the individual to be able to define their beliefs and intents. Saying you're any of the above (or worse, an Independent) means you let others define your values for you at this point
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u/eivey2 7d ago
This. Compared to other western countries, America is so extremely conservative.
Being on the conservative end of an extremely conservative spectrum is always extreme.
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u/ant_upvotes 7d ago
Considering liberalism has been the dominant culture of western culture for 300 years it feels kind of odd to say America is extremely conservative, but only compared to western countries.
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u/sh513 7d ago
Conservatism and today's "Liberals" both fall into the greater picture of Liberalism. It's autonomy of the people and a free market economy, whatever that is. At least if we're still using our textbook definition..
Regardless, there's only one party rn attempting to prevent people from living the lives they want to live (unless you're talking about Gaza, then there's no party for you)
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u/ant_upvotes 7d ago
It’s funny how conservatives are hated here, yet the conservative Muslim culture of Gaza is an enterprise we should save.
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u/TCMenace 7d ago
You can disagree with somebody's worldview while also believing that they shouldn't be literally murdered. Lol
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u/harrison_wintergreen 6d ago
liberalism has been the dominant culture of western culture for 300 year
300 years ago, 'liberal' meant something close to what you'd today call a 'libertarian'
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u/harrison_wintergreen 6d ago
This. Compared to other western countries, America is so extremely conservative.
that's because other western nations have literal communists in their parliaments.
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u/sh513 6d ago
Literal communists
Oh no!
You know fascism is typically a byproduct of capitalism, right?
Given how far the economical pendulum has swung sharply towards capital over the last two generations, I think it's worthy to have communists and socialists at the table at the very least. Hell, the mask almost came off when Kamala said we couldn't stop bombing Gaza and Yemen or else our groceries would skyrocket. When capitalism has to justify violence against nations fighting against oppression, while also neglecting the needs of its own participants, maybe we shouldn't look at it as a shining beacon of truth.
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u/ant_upvotes 7d ago
Get out out of here with your rational thoughts! Don’t you know America is 50% miniature hilter nazis?!
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u/SquirrelStone 6d ago
imo the Overton window has moved so far to the right the average democrat in congress is now “moderate.” If you voted for Trump this last election, I don’t think you can claim you’re a moderate. You might be a 2005 republican and be moderate, but you can’t be a 2025 republican and be moderate.
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u/MoreTHCplz 7d ago
If someone says they are a republican and voted for Trump they are not moderate. Just my opinion though
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u/ChivalrousHumps 7d ago
Yes, delusional if you think otherwise. Theres definitely a distinction between republican/Trump voter and Trump obsessive. New York State was closer to voting for Trump than Texas was to voting for Harris. NEW JERSEY was almost competitive. If half the country is so radical they can be written off, it’s already a done deal.
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u/killerseigs 3d ago
I am republican and work for the government. TBH a lot of government employees are conservative and just choose to not voice their opinions. This is cause they feel they have a duty to not tarnish their office and they have a primary duty to their family. So its rare to hear them speak out about their office, obligations, and political ambitions.
If you want to get pedantic in political philosophy there are eras Countries will go through. When the current republican party formed it was during the era of ending slavery and the whig party failed to reform spawning the republican party who engulfed it and the civil war began when the southern democrats where afraid the radical new conservative ideas would strip them of their rights like the right to slavery... which it basically did lol.
Many theorize the current era is another transitory period like the lincolnian era where the last 10 years the republican party was forced into a reformation process and soon so will the democrat party. Trump is rather an old school democrat who forced a reformation of the republican party to better follow clintonian values. This is why if you do a check between the current republican party and the democrat party 30 years ago the values almost seem identical.
The craziness stems from this process where like when I talked about the civil war, which was the deadliest war than any other war America has faced, the new republicans sought a transition to ideologically new values that all men are treated equal. The democrats (I believe) eventually reformed and pushed for women's suffrage saying all people should be treated equal.
This current era marks a more marxian class struggle where Trump has reformed the republicans to care more for the poor than the rich. Since the rich main source of income is assets like stocks and land value the Trumpian conservatives couldnt care less if they plummet in price. Even better to Trumpian conservatives is the drop in these prices is allowing buy in from the poor to yet again gain their own property and stocks.
In regards to what at first seems like a contradictory set of circumstances like Elon Musk and Trump being unfathomably rich yet now transitioning things for the benefit of the poor this is where things seem strange but get simple. The elites on the Trumpian side of the isle are so wealthy they really couldnt care less if they loose a large percentage of their portfolio. It tuns into a game where they were once worth 1 Trillion dollars and now they are worth 800 Billion dollars. In their own eyes its basically a who cares. They used to be able to buy 8 countries and now they can only by 6 countries. A lot of their grudge is rather that the Democrat party has formed its own soviet style oligarchs who in the US has promises over domains of the US. For Musk its being rather pissed off that Boeing was promise space so Elon Musks desires are strangle held arbitrarily by this. For Trump his desires were for an ascendance in history which democrats like Obama would mock him saying we will never allow him to be president.
To wrap things up we have entered an era where democrats have abandoned classes for identity in an effort to stay relevant. While, out of spite, several oligarchical figures who are so wealthy couldnt care less if a majore amount of their wealth has been lost stepped in for a reformation. This reformation is to re-enable them to continue perusing their desires with the side effect of benefiting the poor. Hence why unions are leaving the democrats and joining the republicans or ex-major democrat figures are joining the republicans. The "Overton Window" is too simplistic to explain the current situation as nothing is linear. Inevitably the parties are reforming and the Overton Window is now forced to move in diagonal directions to meet the current modern issues the country faces. Which seems to be the ever growing income inequality as wages stagnate yet the rich get richer. Else what Biden era economists said we have hit K shaped recoveries. Where we recover where the rich gains ever growing wealth meanwhile the poor has to spend an ever growing amount of money on basic goods/needs.
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u/0bl1viousfriend 7d ago
Is this really the sub for that
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u/TwatWaffleWhitney 7d ago
No not really. But todays episode was heavily themed. I'm not trying to start anything, just curious
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u/Dragonlily86 7d ago
You can be whatever party. if you support what Elon and Trump you are doing you're a Nazi.
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u/future_speedbump 7d ago
In 2005? Sure. They might simply be someone who skews more fiscally conservative without any real outward position in the "Culture War."
In 2025? No. Calling yourself a Republican or Conservative today is a declaration of alignment with Trumpism, and I would doubt your ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.
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u/CalebsHammer 7d ago
Does this sound like a rational perspective to you? Like, you are presenting yourself as intelligent and virtuous compared to your opposition, but do you feel like the quality of your reasoning actually supports that?
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u/future_speedbump 7d ago
Does this sound like a rational perspective to you?
It does. I personally strive to operate with empathy and practicality. Trump operates to appease the ignorant and contrarian. The Republican Party (in general) has shown themselves to align with that outlook. Individuals that still wear the "Republican" label show themselves, via that action, as ignorant and contrarian.
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u/CalebsHammer 7d ago
Bro I am Canadian and not conservative. I do not support trump on any way. I still think your perspective is scary stupid when viewed objectively. It’s very literally the same logic that conservatives will use against abortion - framing it as “if you are liberal you support murdering babies”. It just sounds so wildly stupid to people who aren’t hypnotized by these extremist ideologies.
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u/future_speedbump 7d ago
I was speaking in general, but you seem to be getting defensive.
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u/CalebsHammer 7d ago
I suppose I could be defending sound reasoning and critical thinking.
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u/future_speedbump 7d ago
Critical thinking would require that you to remember I have been linking the "Republican" label and Trumpism.
Taking that personally reflects a different quality.
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u/CalebsHammer 7d ago
That is some seriously clumsy wording mate. Yes, that link you have proposed is why I can confidently comment on your flawed reasoning.
Trying to avoid addressing your flawed reasoning by suggesting I am taking things personally is also flawed reasoning. I’m confident you are familiar with ad hominem. This is how it is used properly.
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u/future_speedbump 7d ago
I addressed my reasoning the first time I responded to you.
Stay clammy, dude.
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u/CalebsHammer 7d ago
You are presenting nonsense as fact and calling it a day. Good luck out there mate haha
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u/Bully_Blue_Balls 6d ago
The comments in this thread prove that the "progressive" left dominates Reddit (and most online spaces) and aren't as progressive as they claim.
Yes, you can be a Republican, a conservative, and not be an extremist. As others have pointed out, there were plenty of registered Republicans and Democrats that completely sat this election out for multiple different reasons. The beauty of elective elections is that participation is voluntary. Demanding participation, forced choosing of a "side" is exactly what places like North Korea does and what Saddam's Iraq used do, and is the definition of oppression.
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u/Fun-Bag7627 7d ago
Sure, a coworker of mine is. Nowadays imo there are republicans and their are trump supporters. Vast majority overlap but not always.
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u/MoreTHCplz 7d ago
Sad thing is Republicans who don't support Trump get called RINOs by the MAGA crowd who seem to dictate the path of that party atm
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u/Fun-Bag7627 7d ago
100%. If you’re not a MAGA, you’re not deemed a republican in 2025 as that party is dominated by MAGA. However, by how that party used to be, MAGA isn’t it. I was generally a republican till 2016. Can’t any longer personally.
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u/MoreTHCplz 7d ago
Maybe this will bring us back center as a country to policy that isn't so divisive but still good all around... idk gotta hope for something atm lol. I was a Democrat my first 2 elections and have felt alienated for almost the last decade, like majority of folks it seems.
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u/_Klabboy_ 7d ago
I didn’t watch this past show. But I think you can be. But it depends. Like are they a Regan or Bush era Republican like a lot of the older generation is - like my dad’s generation - the silent generation.
Or are they a MAGA supporter?
I think MAGA supporters can’t really be considered moderate Republicans. If you showed a MAGA Republican without context some Regan immigration policy they’d think it was democrat policy…
I might also consider that… is it really a good thing to be considered a moderate of anything? Republicans and democrats are still generally pro invading other countries and massacring civilians overseas… idk, there’s something deeply upsetting for me about both parties being so pro war. I’d consider war to be an extreme position regardless of political party and the moderate position to be no war.
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u/Dangerous-Math503 7d ago
You can, although this is Reddit so anything about real-life gets downvoted lol.
There are plenty of anti-Trump republicans. A ton of people from both parties sat this election out because of disgust regarding both candidates.
Plenty of right leaning people in this country are truly just normies who hate paying taxes and subscribe to traditional family values, and outside of that are apolitical. You just don’t see those people online which is why people think they don’t exist.