Saturday, January 10, 2015

Poll shows record liberal support

After that bizarre argument with a man with an Elmo-like voice after an Occupy Cincinnati event, I couldn't figure out whether I was a "liberal dumbass" or a "dumbass liberal." According to a new poll by Gallup, a record number of Americans are as much of a "dumbass liberal" as I am.

The survey asked folks if their political outlook is liberal, conservative, or moderate. It didn't use stronger language like "radical" or "leftist." Nonetheless, liberal support is the highest it's been in the survey's 23-year history. It's 50% higher than it was at its low point in 1995 - when The Media was cheering the 104th Reich. The new poll also has the most favorable gap ever between liberal and conservative support.

This is borne out by what I see on the ground. Locally, the mid-'90s appeared to be the high water mark of right-wing public support (though it undoubtedly peaked later in rural areas). It's been a long time since I've met anyone who advocates gunning down workers because they joined a union, so I'm pretty confident that the court of public opinion has spoken. Or maybe it's just because I don't live in Fort Wright.

How does this square with the fact that federal and state legislators have become much more conservative - even reactionary? The legislative branch is the most corruptible branch of government - but it's also become the most powerful, in defiance of the key principles of separation of powers. With lawmakers growing so out of step with public opinion, one thing appears inevitable: civil war.

This war of rightist aggression has actually already started - given the violence that regularly takes place against the Left (despite less public support for this violence). I have the resolve to fight against right-wing violence, and I will fight to the very last breath.

(Source: http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/09/gallup-record-number-americans-identify-liberals.html)