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“Just because Washington is polarized doesn’t mean America is,” says Robert Blizzard, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, the lead pollster for Mitt Romney in 2012. His firm co-created the survey with the Benenson Strategy Group, pollsters for President Obama, and the result is a nation in eight distinct segments: two on the far right, two on the far left, and four in the middle that represent nothing less than a new American center.
Agreements on right leaning issues
The center leans rightward on the environment, capital punishment, and diversity programs. Majorities support offshore drilling (81 percent) and the death penalty (90 percent), and the end of affirmative action in hiring and education (57 percent). Most people in the center believe respect for minority rights has gone overboard, in general, harming the majority in the process (63 percent). And just one in four support immigration reforms that would provide a path to citizenship for those who came here illegally.
Agreements on left leaning issues
The new American center has a socially progressive streak, supporting gay marriage (64 percent), the right to an abortion for any reason within the first trimester (63 percent), and legalized marijuana (52 percent). Women, workers and the marginal would also benefit if the center had its way, supporting paid sick leave (62 percent); paid maternity leave (70 percent); tax-subsidized childcare to help women return to work (57 percent); and a federal minimum wage hike to no less than $10 per hour (67 percent).
I am independent, so you would think I would be in that large middle section (if you ask the fringe RW on CD, they call me fringe left ), but when I took the the quiz (the extended version) it put me in the "Righteous Right" column with only 14% of Americans. I wonder where that leaves the fringe RW at CD?
I am independent, so you would think I would be in that large middle section (if you ask the fringe RW on CD, they call me fringe left ), but when I took the the quiz (the extended version) it put me in the "Righteous Right" column with only 14% of Americans. I wonder where that leaves the fringe RW at CD?
The righties here think I'm a commie, but the brain-dead "progressives" here in San Francisco think I'm the second coming of Darth Cheney. I must be doing something right.
I had a discussion with a friend of mine who is pretty far left the other night, and we came to the following analogy about the political leanings of leftists, centrists, and rightists:
Leftists: Running pell mell toward the Utopian dream of government control. Their foot is on the gas and they aren't about to take it off. If nothing else, they'll get out and push in order to get to their destination.
Rightists: Trying to stop the vehicle for all they're worth. Standing on the brake, shooting out the tires, putting up roadblocks, anything they can do.
Centrists: Not opposed to change, but would prefer to move along at a safe speed. If the bridge is out ahead, they'd like to be going slow enough to see the warning signs before going off the cliff.
Fairly simple analogy, but it seems to sum up the current political situation quite well.
The righties here think I'm a commie, but the brain-dead "progressives" here in San Francisco think I'm the second coming of Darth Cheney. I must be doing something right.
People on CD don't care where you stand on most issues, because if you disagree on even one issue, then they assume you must be the with the enemy. As a matter of fact, you are the enemy for simply not joining in their Rants & Chants.
I am independent, so you would think I would be in that large middle section (if you ask the fringe RW on CD, they call me fringe left ), but when I took the the quiz (the extended version) it put me in the "Righteous Right" column with only 14% of Americans. I wonder where that leaves the fringe RW at CD?
Quote:
Originally Posted by pch1013
The righties here think I'm a commie, but the brain-dead "progressives" here in San Francisco think I'm the second coming of Darth Cheney. I must be doing something right.
I've been accused of being far left and far right on these forums, depending on the topic being discussed. It's gotten to the point where I find it amusing more than anything else.
This thread is about false equivalence -- "the far right and the far left are the same." Except, they are not. The "left" wants to support policies like maintaining Social Security, Medicare, a social safety net for the poor and provide health care to citizens. Those were once mainstream concepts. Even Republican President Eisenhower said,
Quote:
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, l952
On the other hand, the far right wants to privatize or eliminate all social programs and any program that helps the poor. They also wants to slash taxes, which mainly aides the rich. The far right also favors the contradictory policies of cutting the scope of the government while having the government intrude upon a woman's personal reproductive choices. There is only one radical side, the far right.
Moreover, the left is not the mirror image of the right. The right wants to reduce government for the sake of reducing government. The left doesn't care about the size of government. We want government to do certain things: protect the environment, workers, provide health care, etc. The size of government isn't the issue.
This thread is about false equivalence -- "the far right and the far left are the same." Except, they are not. The "left" wants to support policies like maintaining Social Security, Medicare, a social safety net for the poor and provide health care to citizens. Those were once mainstream concepts. Even Republican President Eisenhower said,
On the other hand, the far right wants to privatize or eliminate all social programs and any program that helps the poor. They also wants to slash taxes, which mainly aides the rich. The far right also favors the contradictory policies of cutting the scope of the government while having the government intrude upon a woman's personal reproductive choices. There is only one radical side, the far right.
I think you're ignoring a large part of the ideology on both sides. The far left and the far right are both extremists, they are just extremists in different areas.
This thread is about false equivalence -- "the far right and the far left are the same." Except, they are not. The "left" wants to support policies like maintaining Social Security, Medicare, a social safety net for the poor and provide health care to citizens. Those were once mainstream concepts. Even Republican President Eisenhower said,
On the other hand, the far right wants to privatize or eliminate all social programs and any program that helps the poor. They also wants to slash taxes, which mainly aides the rich. The far right also favors the contradictory policies of cutting the scope of the government while having the government intrude upon a woman's personal reproductive choices. There is only one radical side, the far right.
It does not say the far right and the far left are the same? It said the nation can be divided to eight distinct segments: two on the far right, two on the far left, andfour in the middle
The discussion is about the four in the middle
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), but when I took the the quiz (the extended version) it put me in the "Righteous Right" column with only 14% of Americans. I wonder where that leaves the fringe RW at CD?