"How in the world does that make you a centrist? Surely based on the polling, Bernie Sanders is closer to the center of politics & public opinion than you are or Joe Manchin is?" A question I put to the author of a new book on 'centrism': Joe Lieberman.
I cited a bunch of polls showing how popular with the public a bunch of measures in the Build Back Better bill are - expanding Medicare, paid family leave, tax hikes, etc - & asked Joe Lieberman how opposing those measures can be called 'centrist'. Watch:
@mehdirhasan So centrism really just means “pass whatever bill you can pass”
@mehdirhasan I’m really not interested in anything Joe Lieberman has to say.
@mehdirhasan Centrism is also an ideology most closely related to corporatism.
@mehdirhasan Americans want these things and are becoming increasingly angry that Congress will not comply.
@mehdirhasan Health care and edu for all, eradicating $ in politics, protecting the environment, improving infrastructure, making govt & our tax dollars work for us...extremism. Corporations dictating elections & politics, our $ funding the wealthy, caving to corp interests not radical.
@mehdirhasan I feel you shouldn't have even had him on air. But that's just me.
@mehdirhasan Took a half an hour for him to get to the reality of the day. All the other strategy talk was a waste of time.