No Moderates at GOP Convention sez Ariana

Ariana Huffington:

If I read one more article talking about all the "moderate Republicans" who are going to be speaking at the upcoming GOP convention, I'm going to have a seizure.

Let's get one thing straight: anyone who is backing George Bush in the 2004 election is, by definition, not a moderate -- no matter how warm and fuzzy their position on abortion and gay rights.

Social issues like choice, gay rights, and gun control are not the defining issues of this campaign. The defining issues are: how the war on terror is being prosecuted, the wisdom (to say nothing of sanity and morality) of slashing taxes in a time of war, and the blatant irresponsibility the GOP has shown by saddling our children with a national debt that will reach $12 trillion over the next ten years. Period.

And if someone is backing Bush on these fundamental issues -- as "big tent Republicans" Rudy Giuliani, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are -- then they are immoderate fanatics, just like the man they are supporting. The rest is just a swing-voter-friendly smoke screen.