It's a Progresive Nation After All

A new report from the Campaign for America's Future and Media Matters covering several years has finally revealed The Progressive Majority: Why a Conservative America Is a Myth!

Rather than being simply a set of unsubstantiated and unverified claims, as we have long grown accustomed to from the corporate media, this report takes a serious in depth look at what the majority of the country truly believes, and exactly what type of policies they really do support.

Can you hear the steam coming out of Brit Hume's ears from here?

Perception Vs Reality.

The report first goes a long way to give examples of how various media figures have a the drop of any number of hats proclaimed with great fanfare that "America is a Conservative Nation."

Guess what - No, It's Not.

But that hasn't slowed the proclaimers down much.

Brit Hume on Election Night 2006 as Democrats gave the GOP "A thumping" in Congress.

...from what we can see, from all the polling and everything else, it remains a conserative country.

It's not like Brit bothered to mention what polling he was referring too.

Glenn Beck on the same evening.

The Majority of Americans seem in favor of classically republican points of view

But it hasn't been just Conservatives who repeated this lie over and over again.

CNN's Candy Crowley.

(Democrats have been) on the wrong side of the values debate, the defense debate and oh yes, the gun debate

But here's the thing, what do people really believe? Should we have a strong and effective government or weak ineffective one? Should we trust industry more to handle our needs fairly? Is greater globalization good for the American economy? Do people favor a minimum wage increase? Are Taxes too High? Should we spur the economy with investment or more tax cuts?

This report provides a few answers for those questions which some of the above "journalists" might have a difficult time reconciling.

The report itself contains a lot of detail, but here are just some of the cliff notes in high resolution for the fact-challenged among us. (Click Image to View Fullsize)

Do Americans Want More Government?

In 2004, respondants to an NES study wanted more government services even if it meant more spending compared to those who wanted to cut spending by a margin of 43 to 23 percent.


Should Women have a Fair Share in the Workplace?



A 2004 NPR/Kaiser/Harvard University Poll found that Americans preferred comprehensive sex education (which included accurate information about contraception) to "abstinence only" programs by a margin of 67 to 30%.

Moral Values?



Abortion?



Taxes?



Trust in Business?



In 2007, 58% felt doubt in the trustworthiness of business to strike a "fair balance" for the public compared to 38% who didn't. (PEW Research)

Is the Minimum Wage current sufficient?



...[A Los Angeles Times Poll in the aftermath of the 2006] election found that 77% of Americans thought "Congress should pass legislation to increase the minimum wage."

Income Disparity?



According to the Wall Street Journal (Oct 2005), 53% of respondent felt that the Bush Tax Cuts were not worth it, while 38% felt that they were.

Gays?



AP/IPSOS only 3% of Americans ranked "Gays" as being the "most important" issue in January of 2007.

Crime and Punishment?



Should Government Spend more on The People who need it?



The PEW Research Center found that over the last 20 years more than two-thirds of Americans (69%) felt that "Government should take care of those who can not take care of themselves."

What's intesting about many of these studies is that they haven't been hidden all this time, they come from major sources such as PEW, the Washington Post and L.A. Times.

This all should be very old news - but intestingly, it isn't?

And that's the real story here, that despite the fact that for decades the majority - and in some cases the vast majority - of the nation has been leaning more and more to the left on specific policy issues than we've all been led to believe.

Why?

Because the increasing minority of conservatives have managed to remain the squeakiest wheels in the car for all that time.

I think it's about time some of us Progressives learned to Squeak - Loudly.

In the meanwhile, a few of these facts, figures and charts just might come in handy the next time your sitting across the table from your wing-nut neighbor/father-in-law/sister/cousin/boss and they start spouting off about how "Conservative" America really is.

Vyan