Fred,

"Moderate" is just the latest fashionable thing to call oneself. Democrats, atypically, are a little late jumping on board with this fad. Republicans, under the guise of the Tea Party and "independents", have been proclaiming their "moderation" for well over a year. I think the straight-party voting in this most recent election has proven quite conclusively that, despite the number of people insisting that they are independent or moderate, the actual existence of such voters is exceedingly rare.