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Even before Obama won, the MSM was doing the conservatives' work for them, arguing that he had better not try to do anything he promised to do because America was a "center-right nation." We noted that the other day that Tom Brokaw was so enamored of the idea, he made an argument that amounted to a belief of "one acre, one vote" -- which is appropriate to a fellow who lives in a cabin in Montana far, far away from any of his neighbors but downright scary in a guy who hosts Meet the Press. Anyway, here, in its most pristine form, from The Washington Post: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) appears secure in his spot. He bucks up the troops in a Post op-ed: "Recommitting ourselves to principles means two things: vigorously fighting a far-left agenda that is out of step with the wishes of the vast majority of Americans and, more important, promoting superior Republican alternatives that prove that we offer a better vision for our country's future," Boehner writes. "America is still a center-right country. This election was neither a referendum in favor of the left's approach to key issues nor a mandate for big government."
And now, the truth -- I know that's redundant -- from Why We're Liberals:
As the political scientist Drew Westen aptly observes, the word liberal for most Americans implies "elite, tax and spend, out of touch," and "Massachusetts."52 And yet the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in Washington, D.C., in conducting an extensive set of opinion polls over the past few decades, has demonstrated a decided trend toward increasingly "liberal" positions, by almost any definition. To offer just a few examples of this liberal-in-all-but-name attitude regarding economic and welfare policy, according to the 2006 survey, released in March 2007, roughly 70 percent of respondents believe that the government has a responsibility "to take care of people who can't take care of themselves" -- up from 61 percent in 2002. The number saying that the government should guarantee "every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep" has increased by a similar margin over the past five years (from 63 percent to 69 percent). Two-thirds of the public (66 percent) -- including a majority of those who say they would prefer a smaller government (57 percent) -- favor government funded health insurance for all citizens. Most people also believe that the nation's corporations are too powerful and fail to strike a fair balance between profits and the public interest. In addition, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) say corporate profits are too high, about the same number who say that "labor unions are necessary to protect the working person" (68 percent). When it comes to the environment, a large majority (83 percent) supports stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment, while 69 percent agree that "we should put more emphasis on fuel conservation than on developing new oil supplies," and fully 60 percent of people questioned say they would "be willing to pay higher prices in order to protect the environment." Regarding so-called social issues, only 28 percent of respondents agree that school boards should have the right to fire teachers who are known to be homosexual, while 66 percent disagree. A 56 percent majority opposes making it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while 35 percent favor this position.53 These findings reinforce previous polls like that in 2004 by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University, which asked voters whether "the federal government should fund sex education programs that have 'abstaining from sexual activity' as their only purpose" or if "the money should be used to fund more comprehensive sex education programs that include information on how to obtain and use condoms and other contraceptives." The condom/contraceptive option won the day by a margin of 67 to 30 percent. Unsurprisingly, a similar number (65 percent) said they worried that refusing to provide teens with good information about contraception might lead to unsafe sex, while only 28 percent were more concerned that such information might encourage teens to have sex.54
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans even tend to side with liberals rather than conservatives in their attitudes toward religion. According to a 2006 study sponsored by the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative of the Center for American Progress and conducted by the firm Financial Dynamism, 67 percent of voters believe that religious freedom is a "critical" part of their image of America, compared to less than three in ten who believe the Judeo-Christian faith specifically is critical to this image. Only 20 percent of American voters approve of leaders using the political system to turn religious beliefs into action. In terms of the role that religious and moral teachings should play in public debate about key issues, American voters do not focus on the issues of abortion, gay marriage, and the kind of topics that so exercise conservative Christian leaders, but would prefer to see their churches lead on issues such as alleviating "poverty and hunger" (75 percent), "homelessness" (61 percent), "government corruption" (58 percent), "terrorism" (56 percent), "the environment" (54 percent), and "health care" (52 percent). Americans specifically reject the conservative Christian desire to suppress science in the service of religious dogma. Eighty percent of those questioned agree that "faith and science can and should coexist. We can respect our belief in God and our commitment to the dignity of every human life by using our scientific knowledge to help those who are sick or vulnerable." The same overwhelming number endorses the view that "stem cell research can be a force for moral good rather than a moral failing."55
The Bush administration's mishandling of almost every aspect of its foreign policy, especially the war in Iraq, has led to equally impressive majorities rejecting the fundamental tenets of conservative foreign policy beliefs on behalf of their more liberal alternatives. Despite the historic advantage the president enjoys in defining foreign policy questions, particularly in times of war and high patriotism, coupled with the fact that this is a nation that has "lost" only one war in its 230-year history added to a never-ending propaganda campaign led by the masterful Karl Rove and his minions, massive majorities of Americans sided with congressional Democrats in their 2007 showdown with Bush over ending the Iraq War without victory. In January 2007, for instance, Bush faced what Bloomberg News termed "record disapproval" of more than 60 percent for his policy of continuing the war as well as "the broader war on international terrorist networks." Just about the only support for Bush's neoconservative foreign policy could be found within the confines of the Republican base, which continues to constitute approximately 28 to 33 percent of Americans questioned.56 While most Americans continue to understand that war -- sometimes even the threat of preemptive war -- can be necessary under certain circumstances, barely four in ten, according to the Pew poll, were willing to trust the conservatives in the Bush administration to make the right decision on whether to begin one.57
Footnotes:
52. Drew Westen, "Gut Instincts," American Prospect, November 19, 2006.
53. Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, "Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes, 1987-2007," March 22, 2007.
54. "Sex Education in America," National Public Radio/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government poll, January 2004.
55. Center for American Progress, "Voters Deeply Concerned about Rising Materialism and Self-interest in American Society; Desire Government Focused on the Common Good and Basic Decency and Dignity of All," poll, June 5, 2006.
56. Heidi Przybyla, "Bush Faces Deepening War Opposition, Demand for Congress to Act," Bloomberg, January 18, 2007; Ronald Brownstein, "Poll: Most Oppose Troop Buildup," Los Angeles Times, January 18, 2007.
57. Pew Research Center, "Trends in Political Values."
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