Editing Radical centrism (section)

=== United States ===
[[File:Ross Perot in his office Allan Warren (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ross Perot]] was an early proponent of radical centrism.]]
[[File:Esse Ventura 2000.jpg|thumb|upright|Political independent [[Jesse Ventura]] was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1998.<ref name=John>Avlon (2004), pp. 277–93 ("Radical Centrists").</ref>]]
Some commentators identify [[Ross Perot presidential campaign, 1992|Ross Perot's 1992 U.S. presidential campaign]] as the first radical centrist national campaign.<ref name=Klein /><ref>Sifry, Micah L. (2003). ''Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America''. Routledge, Section II ("Organizing the Angry Middle"). {{ISBN|978-0-415-93142-7}}.</ref> However, many radical centrist authors were not enthusiastic about [[Ross Perot|Perot]]. Matthew Miller acknowledges that Perot had enough principle to support a gasoline tax hike,<ref>Miller (2003), p. 187.</ref> Halstead and Lind note that he popularized the idea of balancing the budget<ref>Halstead and Lind (2001), p. 115.</ref> and John Avlon says he crystallized popular distrust of partisan extremes.<ref>Avlon (2004), p. 284.</ref> However, none of those authors examines Perot's ideas or campaigns in depth and Mark Satin does not mention Perot at all. Joe Klein mocked one of Perot's campaign gaffes and said he was not a sufficiently substantial figure.<ref name=Klein /> Miller characterizes Perot as a rich, self-financed lone wolf.<ref>Miller (2003), p. 178.</ref> By contrast, what most radical centrists say they want in political action terms is the building of a grounded political movement.<ref>Halstead and Lind (2001), Chap. 5 ("The Politics of the Radical Center").</ref><ref>Satin (2004), Part Six ("Be a Player, Not a Rebel").</ref>

The phrase "militant moderates" was used by national media during Perot's 1992 groundbreaking presidential campaign. One of Perot's most intriguing contributions to American politics is his challenge to the entire paradigm of "left-center-right." He claimed at a meeting of the national Reform Party in 1995 that the paradigm was no longer operative and that left-center-right was being replaced. The replacement was a "top versus the rest of us" paradigm, and that the very wealthy like himself, could choose to be with the people at the "bottom, like most of the American people." This brand of "militant moderation"—a form of populism—is what endeared Perot to his ardent followers and was not traditional "centrism."

Also in the 1990s, political independents [[Jesse Ventura]], [[Angus King]] and [[Lowell Weicker]] became governors of American states. According to John Avlon, they pioneered the combination of fiscal prudence and social tolerance that has served as a model for radical centrist governance ever since.<ref name=John /> They also developed a characteristic style, a combination of "common sense and maverick appeal".<ref>Avlon (2004), p. 277.</ref>{{#tag:ref|By the end of the 20th century, some mainstream politicians were cloaking themselves in the language of the radical center. For example, in 1996 former U.S. Defense Secretary [[Elliot Richardson]] stated: "I am a moderate – a radical moderate. I believe profoundly in the ultimate value of human dignity and equality".<ref>Richardson, Elliot (1996). ''Reflections of a Radical Moderate''. Pantheon Books, Preface. {{ISBN|978-0-679-42820-6}}.</ref> At a conference in Berlin, Canadian Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]] declared, "I am the radical center".<ref name=Andrews>Andrews, Edward L. (4 June 2000). "Growing Club of Left-Leaning Leaders Strains to Find a Focus". ''The New York Times'', p. 6.</ref>|group="nb"}}

In the decade of the 2000s, a number of governors and mayors – most prominently, California governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and New York City mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] – were celebrated by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as "action heroes" who looked beyond partisanship to get things done.<ref>[[Michael Grunwald|Grunwald, Michael]] (25 June 2007). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20250204125248/https://time.com/archive/6681358/the-new-action-heroes The New Action Heroes]". ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine, vol. 169, no. 26, pp.&nbsp;32–38. Cover story.</ref> A similar article that decade in ''[[Politico]]'' placed "self-styled 'radical centrist{{'"}} governor [[Mark Warner]] of Virginia in that camp.<ref>[[John Avlon|Avlon, John P.]] (26 October 2008). "[https://www.politico.com/story/2008/10/the-stand-out-centrists-of-2008-014954?o=1 The Stand-Out Centrists of 2008]". ''[[Politico]]''. Retrieved 24 April 2018.</ref>

In the 2010s, the radical centrist movement in the U.S. played out in the national media. In 2010, for example, ''The New York Times'' columnist [[Thomas Friedman]] called for "a [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party]] of the radical center", an organized national pressure group.<ref>Friedman, Thomas L. (24 March 2010). "[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html?_r=0 A Tea Party Without Nuts]". ''The New York Times'', p.&nbsp;A27. Retrieved 5 February 2013.</ref> Friedman later co-wrote a book with scholar [[Michael Mandelbaum]] discussing key issues in American society and calling for an explicitly radical centrist politics and program to deal with them.<ref>Friedman, Thomas L.; Mandelbaum, Michael (2011). ''That Used To Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pp.&nbsp;353–368. {{ISBN|978-0-374-28890-7}}.</ref> At ''The Washington Post'', columnist [[Matthew Miller (journalist)|Matthew Miller]] was explaining "Why we need a third party of (radical) centrists".<ref>Miller, Matt (11 November 2010). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/10/AR2010111003489.html Why We Need a Third Party of (Radical) Centrists]". ''The Washington Post'' online. Retrieved 5 February 2013.</ref>{{#tag:ref|In 2009, on ''[[The Huffington Post]]'' website, the president of The Future 500<ref>[http://www.future500.org/ Future 500]. Official website. Retrieved 15 December 2013.</ref> – following up on his earlier endorsement of the "radical middle"<ref>Shireman, Bill (5 April 2009). "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-shireman/the-radical-middle-wins-i_b_183212.html# The Radical Middle Wins in Iowa]". ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved 15 December 2013.</ref> – made the case for a "[[transpartisan]]" alliance between left and right.<ref>Shireman, Bill (20 April 2009). "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-shireman/time-for-a-tea-party-with_b_188679.html Time for a Tea Party with the Right: Why Progressives Need a Transpartisan Strategy]". ''The Huffington Post''. Retrieved 5 February 2013.</ref>|group="nb"}}

In 2011, Friedman championed [[Americans Elect]], an insurgent group of radical centrist Democrats, Republicans and independents who were hoping to run an independent presidential candidate in 2012.<ref name=Friedman /> Meanwhile, Miller offered "[t]he third-party stump speech we need".<ref>Miller, Matt (25 September 2011). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-third-party-stump-speech-we-need/2011/09/22/gIQAjzx8wK_story.html The Third-Party Stump Speech We Need]". ''The Washington Post'' online. Retrieved 18 January 2016.</ref> In his book ''The Price of Civilization'' (2011), [[Columbia University]] economist [[Jeffrey Sachs]] called for the creation of a third U.S. party, an "Alliance for the Radical Center".<ref>Sachs, Jeffrey R. (2011). ''The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity''. Random House, pp. 247–48. {{ISBN|978-0-8129-8046-2}}.</ref>

[[File:Problem Solver Seal.png|thumb|left|upright|Insignia of the [[No Labels]] organization]]
While no independent radical-centrist presidential candidate emerged in 2012, John Avlon emphasized the fact that independent voters remain the fastest-growing portion of the electorate.<ref name=Phillips/>

In late 2015, the [[No Labels]] organization, co-founded by Avlon,<ref>Rucker, Philip (13 December 2010). "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/13/AR2010121302365.html No Labels Movement Launched in N.Y., Pledges to Fight Partisanship]." ''The Washington Post'' online. Retrieved 2 January 2017.</ref> called a national "Problem Solver" convention to discuss how to best reduce political polarization and promote political solutions that could bridge the left-right divide.<ref name=Nelson>Nelson, Rebecca (30 October 2015). "[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/the-war-on-partisanship/451461 The War On Partisanship]." ''The Atlantic'' online. Retrieved 2 January 2017.</ref> A lengthy article in ''The Atlantic'' about the convention conveys the views of leaders of a new generation of beyond-left-and-right (or both-left-and-right) organizations, including [[Joan Blades]] of Living Room Conversations, [[David Blankenhorn]] of Better Angels, [[Carolyn Lukensmeyer]] of the National Institute for Civil Discourse and [[Steve McIntosh]] of the Institute for Cultural Evolution.<ref name=Nelson /> Following the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]], prominent U.S. commentator [[David Brooks (cultural commentator)|David Brooks]] praised No Labels and other such groups and offered them advice, including this: "[D]eepen a positive national vision that is not merely a positioning between left and right".<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Brooks|author-link=David Brooks (commentator)|date=29 November 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/opinion/the-future-of-the-american-center.html|title=The Future of the American Center|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|page=27|access-date=1 April 2017}}</ref>

By the mid-2010s, several exponents of radical centrism had run, albeit unsuccessfully, for seats in the [[United States Congress]], including [[Matthew Miller (journalist)|Matthew Miller]] in California<ref>Miller, Matt (November–December 2014). "[http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/mr-miller-doesnt-go-to-washington-112173 Mr. Miller Doesn't Go to Washington: A Candidate's Memoir]". ''[[Politico]] Magazine''. Retrieved 15 October 2017.</ref> and Dave Anderson in Maryland.<ref name=Anderson />

According to a January 2018 article in ''[[The Washington Post]]'', West Virginia Senator [[Joe Manchin]] greeted newly elected Alabama Senator [[Doug Jones (politician)|Doug Jones]] with the phrase, "Welcome to the radical middle".<ref>{{cite news|first1=Dave|last1=Weigel|author-link1=Dave Wiegel|first2=Sean|last2=Sullivan|date=4 January 2018|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/doug-jones-expected-to-take-senate-oath-on-wednesday-shrinking-gop-majority/2018/01/03/b77c1d40-f094-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.html|title=Doug Jones Is Sworn In, Shrinking GOP Senate Majority|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|publisher=[[Nash Holdings]]|location=Washington, D.C.|page=A6|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> Both senators have been regarded as moderate and bipartisan.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nicholas|last=Fandos|date=22 January 2018|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/us/politics/moderate-senators-shutdown-common-sense-coalition.html|title=With Talking Stick in Hand, Moderate Senators Broker the Shutdown|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|page=A17|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref> In March 2018, the political newspaper ''[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]'' ran an article by attorney [[Michael D. Fricklas]] entitled "The Time for Radical Centrism Has Come".<ref name=Fricklas>[[Michael D. Fricklas|Fricklas, Michael]] (30 March 2018). "[https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/380898-the-time-for-radical-centrism-has-come/ The Time for Radical Centrism Has Come]". ''[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]''. Retrieved 18 April 2018.</ref> It asserted that the [[Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018|omnibus spending bill for 2018]] jettisoned spending proposals favored by both political "extremes" to obtain votes of "principled moderates", and that its passage therefore represented a victory for what Senator [[Susan Collins]] (R-Maine) calls "radical centrism".<ref name=Fricklas />

Toward the beginning of the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], [[Steven Teles]] of the [[Niskanen Center]], writing in ''[[The New Republic]]'', laid out a strategy by which a dark horse candidate appealing to the radical center could win the Democratic Party presidential nomination.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Steven|last=Teles|date=27 December 2018|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/152685/radical-centrists-will-decide-democratic-primary|title=Radical Centrists Will Decide the Democratic Primary|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref>

The [[Forward (United States)|Forward Party]], a [[political action committee]] created by former presidential candidate [[Andrew Yang]] in October 2021, was critically described as a radical centrist movement by the American socialist magazine, [[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Andrew Yang's New Political Party Exposes the Farce of Radical Centrism|url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/10/andrew-yang-forward-party-book-third-way-radical-centrism-platitudes-rhetoric|access-date=2021-10-19|website=jacobinmag.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Two days after the creation of the [[Forward (United States)|Forward Party]], Yang tweeted, "You're giving radical centrists like me a home."<ref>{{Cite tweet |access-date=10 August 2023 |url-access=limited |title=Register |number=1446119658327711749 |user=andrewyang |url=https://twitter.com/andrewyang/status/1446119658327711749}}</ref>