Moderates vs Progressives: 1. Not "moderate"

There apparently is a "war" in the Democratic Party between moderates and progressives. Like the war in Iran, this war is being run by bullies and desperate people, and most of us are confused about why it's happening and think it's a bad idea. 

In both cases, the wars serve up content for news shows and therefore profits for newspapers and networks and investors who always profit from war. This present iteration of a moderate vs. progressive war has been started by a sham organization and promoted by a legacy media terrified of any shift in the status quo that jeopardizes the bottom line.

The war, such as it is, was declared in a blustery threat to spend fifteen million dollars! over the next two years! fighting the socialists! in the Democratic Party. That's fifteen mil out of the gazillion that will be spent. Nobody will even notice unless the New York Times continues to re-smear every Third Way calumny all over its hollowed-out pages (it is their ginned-up story, after all) and every other "news outlet" uses it for a think pieces and panel discussions... and clicks.

For now, at any rate, we're being told that in this corner we have progressives and in this other corner we have moderates.

Who are these moderate Democrats who declare war on other Democrats?

Let's start with the "center left" outfit that is making with the war talk. First of all, they are not exactly what they claim to be. While posing as moderate Democrats, they work undercover to create a narrative designed to push genuine Democratic electeds and candidates to the right, particularly on economic issues. Privatization, deregulation, austerity, free market magic, this is The Third Way.

These wolves in sheep's clothing are paid to promote a measured approach and to sternly warn about grave consequences. Sometimes they point and shriek at progressives like pod people. Sometimes they stand in the shadows and whisper "That's too much! That's too fast!" into the hungry ears of fearful electeds and candidates. 

The ones who don't profit directly from the status quo collect checks from their corporate overlords who consist of what Robert Reich calls "a Star Wars cantina of billionaire megadonors, Fortune 500 CEOs, corporate dark money bundlers, and giant corporations."  

They are elites who will gleefully pay fifteen million dollars to squelch regulations or kill medicare for all, or avoid paying one more penny in taxes. A bargain compared to the quarter billion spent by a certain white supremacist car dealer.

Sometimes these wolves need a boost, so they call their media buddies and sound the scary electability alarm and voilà! this fake war. They are not "moderate" or "centrist" or "Democrats," and they are not the friends of those who are.

 Next, real moderate Democrats: What are they thinking?