It is a fairly common claim from conservatives that America is a right-of-center country; that Democrats are simply out of touch with the average citizen. I've never seen a conservative back up this claim, but that hasn't stopped them from saying it, or kept fellow conservatives from believing it, I would guess. Tell a lie long enough and it eventually becomes the truth (for an example of this, see the term "liberal media.")
Fortunately, there is evidence to back up a claim of the direction that the country is leaning, and you may have already guessed from the title, it isn't to the right.
Rasmussen Reports tracks ten issues that are important to American voters and the party that people trust more to handle each of the issues. May 2008's poll has some interesting results.
The most important issue: The Economy. Whom do people trust more? The Democrats, 50% to 36%. That's a pretty significant spread.
Issue Two: Government Ethics and Corruption. Which party is more trusted? Dems, 45% to 26%. No real surprise there.
Issue Three: National Security and the War on Terror. This is the Republicans' bread and butter, right? Nope. The Democrats are more trusted, 49% to 42%.
And so it goes with the other issues as well. The Democrats are more trusted on:
Social Security: 49% to 36%.
Health Care: 54% to 33%.
Education: 50% to 35%.
Iraq (Iraq!) 50% to 39%.
Taxes (Taxes?) 45% to 40%.
Immigration: 45% to 35%.
Abortion 46% to 39%.
The Democrats are more trusted by at least 5% on every major issue. There are two important conclusions to draw from this.
First: The Republican smear machine will be running full force this fall, because they know they can't win on any of the issues. All they have left are personal attacks. I'm sure we can look forward to seeing more footage of Reverend Wright.
Second: America is a left-of-center country.
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7 comments:
You're correct about the negative stuff. The whisper campaign has already started. Ugh.
Hey Mike...of course I have to disagree as you knew I would. But not to a large degree. I think the country is actually moderate. Although your point is valid on social issues. I think most in the country are left leaning in that area, including republicans. If you recall in my polygamy vs. gay marriage post I was the only one out of several liberal and conservatives against it. However the dem dominated congress has a mere 13% approval rating and is dropping. The country is unhappy in general with government. Change the kind Obama is calling for means a switch from republican to democrat dominated government. I don't believe in a dominated party government. I vote for democrats locally and republicans federally. I also don't think that because the country is leaning democrat means left. My husbands family are hardcore Kennedy democrats and hardcore Mormons. They have Jesus and the Kennedy's on their wall.
And as far as the smear machine, come on, there is no democrat smear machine? lets be intellectually honest...I expect to smear plenty and make no bones about it. But don;t act like there is no democrat smear machine. I cuts both ways. :)N
sorry about the typos. :N
Hey Nikki - seems to me that the Clinton campaign is a good example of that Democratic smear machine you refer to. It's not all that surprising though considering who they admire.
"As he packs his desk just 15 steps from the Oval Office, Karl Rove says he will not join any 2008 presidential campaign. That's just as well because none of the Republican candidates presumably could afford the association even if they wanted his strategic smarts. Besides, none of them is running the campaign quite the way he would. The candidate who seems to be adopting his style and methods the most so far? Hillary Rodham Clinton."
[...]
"The Clintons recognize the skill Rove has brought to politics and admire his craft, if not his ideology. Just days after the November 2004 election, Bill Clinton pulled Rove aside at the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas. "Hey, you did a marvelous job, it was just marvelous what you did," Clinton told Rove, according to the book "The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008," by John F. Harris and Mark Halperin. "I want to get you down to the library. I want to talk politics with you. You just did an incredible job, and I'd like to really get together with you and I think we could have a great conversation.""
-Peter Baker, Washington Post, 08-15-07.
Full article here.
EvilPoet, I have a feeling we're going to see a lot more (and a lot worse) than that from the republicans in the coming months.
Nikki, I didn't mean to imply that the Democrats are above smearing their opponents. I was just saying that since the Republicans lose on every main issue this time around, all they have is the personal attacks.
I agree with what you're saying about having one party in control. Next year, we'll (probably) see a Democrat as president and the Dems will have a big majority in the House and a super majority (or close to it) in the Senate. I hope they can handle the power.
Great post. It gets me to thining, which is why I love blogging.
One lesson I learned is its not good to get too arogant, because polls change from day to day. McCain once had a 2% chance of being the nominee, and now look at him. Plus, he's gaining in the polls. Obama once trailed Clinton.
Not only that, it's important to note that people like a change in political parties from time to time. And there's really nothing wrong with that.
Another thing to think about is that America IS Right of Center in that they are traditional in their values, but the republican party has skrewed up lately, not conservatives enough per se.
Americans usually reject liberalism and love traditionalism (conservatism is just an alternative to liberalism). You have to realize that the 2006 democrats tended to be more conservative than the 2006 republicans. That's something that tends to get overlooked.
The question is: will America vote for a liberal Obama over a more conservative (yet still liberal leaning) McCain.
It will be ineresting. And I'll still be happy either way.
Freadom, thanks for the comments. I understand that polls are just snapshots of the country's mood at any given time. I think it's interesting, though, that last month the people favored the Democrats in each of the top ten issues. We'll find out this month if it was just a blip or if sentiment continues to move in that direction.
I get what you're saying about people wanting a change. Bush Sr. was the first 3rd term for one party in how long? As I see it, a large part of the GOP's problem is that they abandoned core conservative values. Once they grabbed total power, they expanded the government more than it had been in 50 years, and spent us into record debt. Then the Democrats gain control and implement pay-as-you-go? Are we living in bizzaro world?
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