What is a moderate voter?

“In an election year with hyper-partisan campaigning aimed at the base, the center of the electorate is often overlooked. Yet moderates have outnumbered liberals and conservatives in every Presidential election since 1976. Moderates don’t just split the difference between conservatives and liberals. They have their own beliefs and values.”

http://perspectives.thirdway.org/?p=1926

Who are the independent voters?

“…independent voters are less engaged and less informed. …Independents are a hodgepodge; it doesn’t work to look at them as having any common worldview. There are affluent suburban voters who are fiscally conservative and culturally liberal; there are seniors, who are more populist than the population as a whole; and there are a high number of white, blue-collar voters who are deeply angry and have been explosive in election after election. In 2006 and 2008, all these groups voted overwhelmingly for Democrats. In 2010, they voted overwhelmingly for Republicans. Right now, I don’t think we have a clue where they’re going.”

http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/stanley-b-greenberg-2011-10/

The difference between an independent voter and a moderate voter

http://www.thirdway.org/publications/562