> In my experience, a moderate is a conservative in all things that effect them, and a liberal for anything else.

While obviously a generalization, this is very insightful. I never thought of this before, and I admit I might be a moderate.

There’s research showing (at least in the US) that the “archetype” moderate, who believes all things in moderation, is basically nonexistent. Moderates instead are made up of people who have perhaps a few “moderate” views, but mostly have a roughly even mixture of left-wing and right-wing views, with no particular combinations being particularly common.

A hypothetical moderate might believe all of the following:

* Gay marriage should be illegal

* Abortion should be legal

* Firearm rights are important

* Taxes on large businesses and wealthy people should be much higher

* NATO should be scrapped

* The USA should bomb Iran and Syria

* Free markets are good

* Free trade is bad

This person has too many strong and politically diverse viewpoints to consistently back either major US party, and ends up voting based on whichever candidate most effectively signals alignment with the small number of policies the “moderate” voter currently feels most strongly committed to.

It’s easy for someone to come across as a “moderate” if they have a different primary motive for policy preference. A devout catholic might believe that both abortion and firearm ownership should be strictly forbidden, which is hard to fit into either party platform. Someone with a commitment to individual liberty might support gay marriage, unrestricted abortion access, drug legalization, free markets, free trade, and low taxes; very hard to reconcile with a party platform.