America More Liberal Than We Realize!

I have long suspected that the majority of Americans don’t know what to call themselves. Some say they are conservative, others claim they are moderate and some say liberal or progressive. In reality when polled about their views most Americans would fall on the left side of the equation. In other words they are much more progressive and/or liberal than they know.

I just finished reading a great report from MediaMatters.org and find their conclusions fascinating. It supports my belief, but much more than I expected. On issue after issue, Americans come down on the liberal side, they just don’t want to call themselves that “L” word. The relentless marketing effort by the Republican party to vilify the word “liberal” has worked pretty well. OK, I understand that not everyone is as open minded as me, but let’s settle on the word “Progressive” for now. When you look at the figures, America is a pretty progressive country.

Here are a few tidbits from the responses mentioned in the report:

• 69% say Government should be responsible for health care coverage for all Americans.
• 75% are willing to pay higher prices for wind or solar generated electricity.
• 83% want stricter laws to protect the environment.
• 65% favor attacking social problems that cause crime as a cure for the problem.
• 60% favor more controls on the guns the public can buy.
• 81% favor a mandatory police permit before buying a gun.
• 89% favor equal rights for gays and lesbians in employment and housing.

Doesn’t sound very conservative to me!

Read the report (pdf)