There's been some discussion recently about how centrist Democrats should talk about people more liberal than themselves. Sometimes centrists attack liberals because they're worried that the Democratic Party will be perceived as some kind of crazy liberal party and will lose its appeal to moderate voters. The centrists are right that it's worth some sacrifices to win moderate voters, since we need moderates to win elections and govern. But some of the standard centrist moves actually do more to damage the party's appeal to moderates than to improve it. Regard the DLC-Dean story from the primaries as a cautionary tale. Despite Dean's centrism on issues like gun control and the budget, the DLC treated him like a fringe candidate for his opposition to the Iraq War, which they thought would alienate moderate voters. Partially thanks to them, he's now regarded as a radical. The DLC didn't even dream that they were giving their future party chairman a radical reputation, but that's what happened. The moral of the story: don't make your fellow Democrats look more radical than they are. You'll wish they had a moderate image later.
