Well, all this is interesting to me, anyway, and that's what matters here. The Internet is a terrible thing for someone like me, who finds almost everything interesting.
Politics abhors a vacuum. So, as the whole Republican Party has sprinted madly to the right, leaving an expanding hole in the moderate right, the Democratic Party has moved right to fill it.
Remember, as just one example, "Obamacare" was once the Republican position, and not just Mitt Romney's, either. It was developed in right-wing think tanks in the 1990s and widely supported in the GOP. Back then. Certainly not now! Now, it's considered unconstitutional, and maybe even satanic.
At any rate, this has caused the whole political landscape to move to the right. I've seen it, myself. I don't know how those studies judge where the center is, which issues they're actually tracking. I don't have enough information to tell if this is really valid.But in my lifetime, I've seen it. At least, I think I have. Of course, that's what I would think, isn't it?
I don't know. If you look at those "culture war" issues, things might seem different. These days, even the right-wing doesn't officially support racial segregation, let alone slavery. In that respect, the whole country has moved to the left.
The same is true for women's rights. Women couldn't even vote in the 19th Century. And more recently, attitudes about gay rights have been changing - improving - remarkably quickly. In this respect, at least, America is far more liberal than the Republican Party - maybe even more liberal than the Democratic Party.
So I don't know. But certainly the intent of the GOP is to drag America to the right, and that's the case with every issue, pretty much. That's undeniable, isn't it?
2 comments:
Jeff
said...
Speaking of (knuckle) dragging America to the right, regarding the latest brain-farts emanating from the Bilious, Bucolic, Buffalo-butt (aka Rush Limbaugh), at risk of asking one of the dumber questions in recent memory, has El Rushbo finally gone too far?
Yeah, I saw that, Jeff. But if any Republican criticizes Rush Limbaugh, he'll probably have to crawl back and beg forgiveness later. At any rate, that's certainly been the pattern so far.
And I didn't mention Breitbart, because, as you say, it's inappropriate to say anything that isn't just expressing sympathy for his family. So I, too, will leave it at that.
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2 comments:
Speaking of (knuckle) dragging America to the right, regarding the latest brain-farts emanating from the Bilious, Bucolic, Buffalo-butt (aka Rush Limbaugh), at risk of asking one of the dumber questions in recent memory, has El Rushbo finally gone too far?
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/01/rush-limbaugh-says-women-who-use-birth-control-should-make-sex-tapes-so-he-can-watch-them-audio/
About Andrew Breitbart: Well, in a more civilized time, it was considered bad form to talk ill of the dead. I'll just leave it at that.
Yeah, I saw that, Jeff. But if any Republican criticizes Rush Limbaugh, he'll probably have to crawl back and beg forgiveness later. At any rate, that's certainly been the pattern so far.
And I didn't mention Breitbart, because, as you say, it's inappropriate to say anything that isn't just expressing sympathy for his family. So I, too, will leave it at that.
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