Just what is a "moderate` Republican"?

Republicrat or Demican?

Having heard my brother, Richard from Connecticut, state (quite often) that he is a "moderate Republican" while extolling the virtues of Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower in the same breath, I thought I'd check these animals out.

First and foremost, since the War/Occupation in Iraq is foremost in my mind these days, I dug out a rather interesting and powerful statement attributed to Dwight Eisenhower:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." [Dwight D. Eisenhower, From a speech before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953]

Wow! Richard: I have suddenly come to "like Ike" more than you can imagine.

Unfortunately, the term "moderate Republican" seems to be attributed in recent years to two very different kinds of "animals" that are very much unlike President Eisenhower who understood the sadness of both war and poverty (Europe and Korea) as well as the needs right here at home. They are either "economic moderates" or "social moderates," both of which cross over in areas of foreign policy and conflicts -- domestic and foreign (the "neocons"). And BTW, these same two kinds of persons are found among "moderate Democrats" too. There's plenty of guilt to share in this regard.

As Jack Abramoff (an "economic moderate" -- that is, he pretended to lean to the corporatist side of issues within the Republican Party) -- and former (as of today) Representative Mark Foley (a "social moderate" -- that is he pretended to lean to the social side of issues within the Republican Party) -- demonstrate ... what we really want in both parties are persons who aren't hypocrites deep down.

I searched for what exactly I wanted in almost any candidate -- from whichever party -- and came up with a definition of a "moderate Republican" that I can live with. And yes, Richard, I notice that "Ike" Eisenhower is included. I personally would call this person a "moderate Democrat" as well, but will go with this for now. I will use the list of characteristics on this link in evaluating whoever is running (both parties) in 2008.

What we don't want -- any of us -- is a donkey wrapped in an elephant suit as might be pictured below (or its opposite in a donkey suit):