How often do you hear the media bobbleheads blather "America is a conservative country, no question about it" and "the Left is dead" and "for any Democrat to win an election they have to pander right"?
Well, all of these conventional wisdoms are, in fact, follies, according to an exhaustive series of polls featured in a report obtained by Media Matters for America and available here.
When polled for the past ten-plus years on a number of legislative, economic and social issues, it is quite clear (at least from the myriad results available here in several formats) that American opinion trends firmly left---often by as much as 2 to 1.
Some impressive findings:
+ The role of government -- 69 percent of Americans believe the government "should care for those who can't care for themselves;" twice as many people (43 percent vs. 20 percent) want "government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending" as wanted government to provide fewer services "in order to reduce spending."
+ The economy -- 77 percent of Americans think Congress should increase the minimum wage; 66 percent believe "upper-income people" pay too little in taxes; 53 percent feel the Bush tax cuts have failed because they have increased the deficit and caused cuts in government programs.
+ Social issues -- 61 percent of Americans support embryonic stem cell research; 62 percent want to protect Roe v. Wade; only 3 percent of Americans rank gay marriage as the "most important" social issue.
+ Security -- 43 percent of Americans say we are spending too much on our military; 60 percent feel the federal government should do more about restricting the kinds of guns that people can purchase.
+ The environment -- 75 percent of Americans would be wiling to pay more for electricity if it were generated by renewable sources to help reduce global warming; 79 percent want higher emissions standards for automobiles.
+ Energy -- 52 percent of Americans believe "the best way for the U.S. to reduce its reliance on foreign oil" is to "have the government invest in alternative energy sources;" 68 percent of the public thinks U.S. energy policy is better solved by conservation than production.
+ Immigration -- 57 percent of Americans feel "most recent immigrants to the U.S. contribute to this country" rather than "cause problems." 67 percent of Americans feel that "on the whole" immigration is a "good thing for this country today."
+ Health care - 69 percent of Americans think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have access to health coverage; 76 percent find access to health care more important than maintaining the Bush tax cuts; three in five would be willing to have their own taxes increased to achieve universal coverage.
And remember, this report is an amalgam of findings over the past two decades. On issues such as the environment, gay marriage and social programs versus tax cuts, the turns to the left have been much more sharp since the year 2000, as you can see for yourselves.
So why aren't progressives and liberals out there beating their chests and throwing their weight around? After all, the myth that the numbers are all on the other side is just that-----a myth.
I have heard all the conventional arguments about the corporate-owned mainstream media having a vested interest in promoting conservatism, which are obvious. But we have many avenues in which to be heard and frankly, it seems ridiculous to me that with the advent of the Internet, text messaging, cable, ezines and other accessible media, that the Left still feels compelled to behave like a minority.