The GOP right-wingers have put forth the idea that they are this country's conservative party, while the Democrats are the party of liberals. They are half right. As the chart above shows, about 60% of Republicans want a right-wing president (a clear majority). But the opposite is not true of Democrats. Nearly half of Democrats (48%) say they want a moderate to be president, while only 30% (less than a third) would prefer a president from the left.
This just verifies what I have been saying for quite a while now -- that there is no major party of the left in this country. We have a right-wing party (Republicans) and a centrist party (Democrats). The Democrats do have two good progressives running for their nomination this year -- but the perception of them is very different. Hillary Clinton is perceived as the more moderate candidate by most, while Bernie Sanders is perceived as being on the far left (a perception enhanced by his claim to be a socialist). This, more than anything else, is why Sanders will not be the Democratic nominee.
These charts were made from a new Gallup Poll -- done between December 2nd and 6th of a random national sample of 366 Republicans and 363 Democrats, with the margin of error for both parties being 7 points.
Based on her voting record and fund raising, I would not call Clinton a progressive, a moderate maybe, and more likely a conservative democrat.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, Jerry. She and Bernie agree on most progressive issues. She could be better (but so could Bernie). But she is perceived as being more moderate (like you said), and that will only help her campaign -- since most of the voting public wants a moderate president. As far as her fundraising, both she and Bernie have raised over 90% of their campaign donations from small donors (those giving $200 or less) -- and both are being helped by super-PACs.
ReplyDeleteSanders does not take money from super-PACs.
ReplyDeleteNo candidate takes money from a super-PAC. That would be against the law. But Bernie DOES have a super-PAC supporting him (one organized by a nurses union).
DeleteAnd a comparison of her senate voting record (what she has done, not what she has said) shows her more conservative than Sanders.
ReplyDeleteWe'll just have to disagree about that.
DeleteIn any event, both Sanders and Clinton are far and above better candidates than anything the republicans have. I will vote for either one. Ultimately, that's the bottom line.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you about that.
DeleteSanders [does not want their help.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the article. I thought he only had one super-PAC, and it turns out he has two.
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