Using Lakoff’s model, you have the Stern Parent (conservative ideal) or the Nurturing Parent (liberal ideal). There is no in-between (there is no Nice-but-Distant-Relative, as much as people want to believe in the effectiveness of the Uncle Joe Biden persona). Similarly, there are no moderates, just fuzzy thinkers. In the 1960’s, you were either for MLK’s ideal of civil rights for all, or you were against his ideal. Anyone who claimed to have some sort of median philosophy simply didn’t want to think about what the notion of civil rights meant. These are the “white moderates” that MLK rebuked in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. And the white moderates in essence maintained the power of the conservatives who opposed civil rights.

There is nothing to be gained by watering down liberal (or for that matter conservative) values in order to incorporate moderate values. It’s like using half a cup of cold water to cool down half a cup of coffee. Not only will the result be tepid, it will also be weak. Liberals must convince so-called moderates that the Nurturing Parent model is best for their families. Good luck getting that nonintrusive Uncle to help out the families on the border or your own family.