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| Moderates becoming more attractive. |
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| Michael Moore on the left. Not so pretty. |
- Conservative: 41 percent.
- Moderate: 36 percent.
- Liberal: 21 percent.
Fact is that little has changed in those numbers for the past 18 years. Conservatives have bounced from 36 percent to the new high of 41; moderates have fluctuated, likewise, from 43 percent in 1992 to the new level; and liberals have gone from 17 percent to a high of 22 percent.
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| Fox on the right. Stupid? |
My guess is that the demonization of the word "liberal" by those on talk radio and Fox television has led to people who agree with many of the positions held by liberals, denying an overall link. Hence the preference for "progressive" by the timid. This is much the same as what happened to the word "feminist" when the right got hold of it.
I was talking to a recent Hollins graduate the other day--a bright, perceptive young woman--who blanched at the word "feminist," saying, "Oh, I'm not a feminist." When asked about the specific beliefs of feminists (of which I am one), she was in accordance with every one of them. "But feminists don't have any sense of humor," she said. "Some don't," I said, "but feminism is a philosophy and humor is a character trait. One has very little to do with the other."
Americans very often become much more liberal when asked specific questions about their political preferences ("Would you kill Social Security? Do you believe in vacations for workers? Would you shut down the national parks system? Do you believe the environment should be given preference over oil profits? Do you think mine safety is important?"). But those questions are not part of this poll and it's easier to impress a negative (Fox, talk radio) than a positive. Ask Congress.
(Photos: sodahead.com)
It would be more illuminating, from my perspective, if the poll looked at specific positions rather than self-identified labels. The "conservatives" of today don't hold the positions of the Republican party of my youth (remember Thurston Howell III?) - and yet even the conservatives hold what used to be liberal positions ("Keep the Government out of my Medicare!"). What a mess.
ReplyDeleteI do not mind labels and I wear "Liberal" proudly, but I understand that it is all relative. A lot depends on the issue and the candidates we have to choose from in any given election. Barack Obama proved that beyond doubt the last time. If the Republicans offer another choice that is frightening to the moderates, here we go again. The field so far, works for me. They are mostly nuts but America is not.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stand watching hours of palm-pressing and baby-kissing... but I had to (on C-Span) just to catch what all these idiots had to "say."
ReplyDeleteOf them all, Newt had the most specific ideas and the least party-scripted speech (you'd think he oughta be good at that anyway, having been speaker of the house).
But these branded terms, I'm sorry, I do not buy. It is the lack of languages that corners many Americans into bastardizing definitions for words. And popularity is the name of the game once it's in motion.
Liberal is something you would be if you let your 16 year-old daughter stay out past 9pm. It implies irresponsibility and impulsiveness at worst, and over-generosity at best.
Conservative, well... if only they were. Really. That's why we had to make up a new word called "conservationist" so as not to confuse.
Progressive. What the hell is wrong with that? I bet a grand majority of humans would prefer to have some progress already. Not this golden i-Crap worship today. (Everything is all about the omniscient "I" ain't it?) We have duped ourselves. People are dying all over the world. What do we give them? I-Crap. (After we blow up their homes.)
Lastly, a Moderate (IMO) is someone who possibly cannot co-sign a party's BS each and every time. There's plenty of BS from both major parties, and tons more from the lesser ones.
Besides, all this side-taking as if Planet Earth were a football stadium really defeats the Human Race in its own game.
That was fun. Good topic. :)
I couldn't stand watching hours of palm-pressing and baby-kissing... but I had to (on C-Span) just to catch what all these idiots had to "say."
ReplyDeleteOf them all, Newt had the most specific ideas and the least party-scripted speech (you'd think he oughta be good at that anyway, having been speaker of the house).
But these branded terms, I'm sorry, I do not buy. It is the lack of languages that corners many Americans into bastardizing definitions for words. And popularity is the name of the game once it's in motion.
Liberal is something you would be if you let your 16 year-old daughter stay out past 9pm. It implies irresponsibility and impulsiveness at worst, and over-generosity at best.
Conservative, well... if only they were. Really. That's why we had to make up a new word called "conservationist" so as not to confuse.
Progressive. What the hell is wrong with that? I bet a grand majority of humans would prefer to have some progress already. Not this golden i-Crap worship today. (Everything is all about the omniscient "I" ain't it?) We have duped ourselves. People are dying all over the world. What do we give them? I-Crap. (After we blow up their homes.)
Lastly, a Moderate (IMO) is someone who possibly cannot co-sign a party's BS each and every time. There's plenty of BS from both major parties, and tons more from the lesser ones.
Besides, all this side-taking as if Planet Earth were a football stadium really defeats the Human Race in its own game.
That was fun. Good topic. :)
Oh yeah. Forgot to mention, the ones who hate public education can't spell. Hahaha!!! (All that technology wasted on them, you see?)
ReplyDeleteStarCity: Yes, and the lovely people who insist on English as an official U.S. language can neither speak it nor write it. If we were to have a literacy test for citizenship, about half of the "real Americans" would flunk it.
ReplyDelete