John Avlon Quotes

I believe in operating in the big middle of the electorate and not being to the far right or the far left. I think you get so much more done.

You can't rule America from the fringes. You must rule America from the middle.

Extremism of the right should not be answered by extremism of the left, because neither extremism will work. The country has been wise in avoiding extremism

Despite the forces pulling politicians to the extremes, Americans must remember that the United States is not Europe. The American political tradition is pragmatic and centrist.

I will do everything to make sure you never have reason again to vote for extremes.

I know a moderate, more centered candidate like myself doesn't get as much attention as people who tend to say more extreme things.

We need to tell the far-right and the far-left to go away and have people in the center solve the problem.

My lesson from history is that if there is a strong moderate centrist party which can lead the country, there is no room for extremists from the right or left.

I consider my voice to be a centrist moderate voice among the nine Democratic candidates.

I don't intend to leave the Republican Party, but I would like to move the Republican Party more to the center.

We must govern from the middle, or we will not be able to govern at all.

I'm someone who believes in centrist governing philosophy.

As a former Republican, I represent a group of Americans who all too often have no one to speak for them. This group doesn't necessarily have a name. We've been called 'moderates,' but that term can be misleading.

In fact, I think that Governor Clinton, when he was running, and President Clinton, when he was serving, actually governed with a wide range of advisors and a perspective that blended the best of ideas from the center and the left.

For those of us who consider ourselves political moderates, life is a dispiriting slog, a sorry mix of rectitude and ineptitude.

… triangulation is the idea that you demonstrate to some set of swing voters that you are politically palatable by poking the extremes of both parties in the eye.

The antidote to frenzied partisanship won’t be found in politics as usual but in problem-solving leaders who govern from the center.

Leaders willing to demand centrist government and less alienating politics are rare. Moderation is not considered sexy; bipartisan initiatives are frequently deemed boring. Ironically, it has been left to a media celebrity to fill part of the yawning gap in the middle.

I don't think that the Left has a monopoly on bad ideas. I don't think the Right has a monopoly on good ideas.

I'm fearful the Democratic Party is already moving too far to the left. I want to push the Democratic Party to be more in touch with mainstream America, and on some issues, that's more left, and on some issues it might be more right.

The only way Democrats can govern in this country is by making common cause with moderates and independents.

I listen to the far left which informs the far right. Somewhere in the middle is where we end up.

If I believe in something, I will fight for it with all I have. But I do not demand all or nothing. I would rather get something than nothing. Professional liberals want the fiery debate. They glory in defeat. The hardest job for a politician today is to have the courage to be a moderate. It's easy to take an extreme position.

If you start very far to the left, it's harder to get to the middle.

Centrism is bogus.