Posted on 03/06/2014 7:50:44 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
A couple months ago, a Gallup poll recorded a small uptick in the percentage of Americans who identify as “liberal” — to 23 percent, or what Gallup, eliding the margin of error in the poll, called a “new high.” My Post colleague Chris Cillizza wondered if liberal was “no longer a dirty word.”
We will see. After all, there were far more conservatives in that Gallup poll, which, for some, means we’re still a “center-right nation.” But whether people call themselves “conservative” isn’t necessarily that telling in the first place. A recent book by two political scientists shows that liberal may be a dirty word, but liberalism is alive and well — even among people who call themselves “conservative.”
In Ideology in America, Christopher Ellis and James Stimson describe a striking disjuncture. When identifying themselves in a word, Americans choose “conservative” far more than “liberal.” In fact they have done so for 70 years, and increasingly so since the early 1960s.
But when it comes to saying what the government should actually do, the public appears more liberal than conservative. Ellis and Stimson gathered 7,000 survey questions dating back to 1956 that asked some variant of whether the government should do more, less, or the same in lots of different policy areas. On average, liberal responses were more common than conservative responses....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
hat’s an interesting thesis....
That’s an interesting thesis....
I miss the days when I helped my father burn leaves I a big old metal barrel that we punctuated with holes from our hammers unblunt side. No government interference about burning our own raked up yard.
Throwin’ ‘mickey’s (potatoes) in the barrel, fishing them out after a bit and eating them, despite the thick charcoaled covering that today government would scowl about and would be labeled ‘bad’ for us. We did as we wanted freely.
The cars made of heavy metal and went up to 110 mph, only no one did that, not because the government told us, because we knew better. They were far more stylish than todays cars. They burned American oil for gas. Shell, Sinclair, Texaco, Esso...
The phones were Bell Telephone, and the monthly bill was under $6.00. They were beautifully made and I loved the rotary sound as it went around when you dialed. The little numbers and letters painted on what appeared to be like a beautiful porcelain finish. The operator was like an aunt who was ready to help when you needed. You could ask her to place a collect call, she was a love.
The water seemed to taste better, right from the faucet in the kitchen.
Nobody ran down the fathers on tv. They were respected. The women stayed at home, made wonderful dinners and raised the kids, we all went to church.
The country celebrated holidays as one it seemed, and we all were polite, even if some felt it phoney now, it was a matter of respect. No one cursed like you hear today in regular conversation, except in bars.
I could go on and on, there was much that was wonderful. None of it was ordered to be done by the government.
The government did it’s own job. It kept us safe. It let us be to live freely, and we did. Peacefully and happily.
I miss that. That old American government, that was more our friend because it loved us and respected us, our decisions, our rights.
Of course most (American) conservatives are liberals — we want to conserve the American Founding, which in the classical sense of the word (supporting liberty, especially free markets) was a liberal movement.
The problem is American “liberals” are all socialists or worse, and not actually liberal (in the sense of supporting liberty, especially free markets, or in the sense of generous) at all. Libertine, perhaps, but not really liberal.
“Did I miss anything?”
Right is wrong.
Red is blue.
He wants his Newspeak back.
We know that people seldom answer completely truthfully in polls. So why should we expect polls claiming that there are more conservatives than liberals to be accurate?
All we know is that ever since the 60's (and maybe ever since the 30's) our government policies have become more an more liberal. Except for a small break during the Reagan administration it's been leftward ho.
When people are asked if they like their particular political representatives they usually answer in the affirmative. So the people are choosing liberal politicians to enact liberal policies.
Sounds like most people in America are liberal to me.
The answer is no
Liberals can’t run as liberals and conservatives run as more conservative than they actually are
But its not like it looks.....
The Democrats run on the votes of minorities who don’t care what candidates say as long as they keep the cash and victim preference flowing ....those votes are locked up
What candidates actually say is for white votes....that’s where the so called undecideds are....mostly white single non southern women
Thomas Jefferson liberal.
“I’ve also seen plenty of polls that ask “Do you prefer higher taxes and more government services, or lower taxes and fewer services?” Lower taxes and fewer services usually wins by 2-1.”
Yes, but the polls usually leave off the part about the higher taxes, so the respondent can’t figure out that it’s really not the free$hit he was thinking he was going to get. And of course there’s the corollary where the “fewer services” is left off the “lower taxes” option. We have been innoculated with the misunderstanding of the genesis of the money involved. More services coupled with lower taxes, now that’s something we can all get behind.
I have a lesbian relative who identifies as a staunch conservative. She’s fond of saying “nobody is more conservative than me.” But she votes the candidate not the party and hasn’t backed a Republican...ever. She views the KKK as right wing. It’s not cognitive dissonance as there is no cognition and no dissonance.
Political science ain’t science, but it sure is political.
Here in Texas it was pointed out to me when I was very young that one could glean the political party of a candidate by reading the smaller print on the yard signs. Republican candidate yard signs almost always had ‘conservative’ or ‘republican’ proudly stated in the message. OTH if one could not determine the political party of a candidate based upon the sign verbiage, the candidate was almost always a democrat.
About eight lustrum, later this situation still holds.
I define myself as a “classical liberal”....
Most people have no idea what that is....
I am in good company....though....
Why do people always say that big round white thing in the basement is a “hot water heater”?
It’s really a cold water heater.
<not_sarcasm>
You obviously read and understood the article. Crisp, I like that in a comment.
</not_sarcasm>
> ... do the Democrat candidates use the term “liberal” in their advertising or is that word still toxic even in those states?
I think the liberals prefer the term “progressive”.
I gave up on the Republicans, registered as a Conservative and then found that the conservative ballot was full of democrats and progressives. I later registered as a Whig (strict Constitution, small government, God loving, and get the government out of my life).
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