America Is A Liberal Nation. A Liberal Wins On A Liberal Message

[egbertowillies]

When Americans are asked if they want Social Security they do not only say they want it, they say they are willing to pay for more. This holds true for both Democrats and Republicans. Most Americans support Medicare and Medicaid uncut or expanding. The Conservative site The Blaze reports in a telling story titled “Bad News for Social Conservatives? Annual Survey Finds Americans Moving Closer Toward Social Liberalism” details the distinct tilt of Americans toward Liberalism on most social issues.

The reality is if you ignore asking about labels and ask about people’s wants and values, it is immediately apparent that America is a Liberal country. When Liberals go to the polls, Liberals win. Bill Maher nailed it with this New Rules monologue.

With that in mind the New York Mayoral Democratic Primary is a lesson every politician must learn. Notwithstanding the NRA’s win in Colorado in knocking off two gun control Democratic State Senators for supporting more stringent ‘gun control’, if Liberals vote they will win. In fact if one analyzes the Colorado race, Liberals were disinterested and stayed home, something that must be worked on going forward. Voters must learn that it is their civic duty to vote every time. Political engagement must be a requirement for effective citizenship.

Last night Bill de Blasio won the New York Democratic primary decisively. What is more compelling is that he did it with a decidedly Progressive message, a complete break from the mush of Mayor Giuliani and Mayor Bloomberg. Joy-Ann Reid of thegrio describes it best.

De Blasio won every age group, religious faction and income group, both men and women, and every borough, to take just over 40 percent of the vote, technically enough to avoid a run-off, though second place finisher Bill Thompson is not done fighting yet. …

And he ran an unabashedly progressive campaign, vowing to raise taxes on the rich, end the emphasis on “stop-and-frisk” policing, stopping a string of community hospital closures and working to make New York housing more affordable for ordinary people — an anathema to a city overtaken by mass gentrification over the last 20 years. For that, he was rewarded with a commanding 50 percent of the vote of very liberal voters, and 34 percent of those describing themselves as “somewhat liberal.” He lost moderate voters to Thompson by 3 points.

More importantly, de Blasio’s independence, and the inability of the big city papers, his well-funded rivals and their institutional backers, or the Michael Bloomberg media and cash machine to stop or even slow his late and sudden rise, signals a potential end to a period in the Big Apple’s history dominated by two pugnacious mayors who put the city squarely in the service of the rich, and who cast all of the blame for the city’s ills on squeegee men and black teenagers. Or to put it in Bloombergian terms, it’s the rich people who pay the bills, people, so all you 47 percenters bow down and say thank you. [Source]

Will 2014 be the reawakening of the Liberals, the real working middle class? Will it be 2016? Will all voters force intransigent representatives out of office, safe district or not? Or must the entire economic system come crashing down on the heads of the non-voting Liberals to really force a change; not only in New York City but throughout the land.

[Tarheel_Dem]

1. Don't know about the nation, but NYC certainly is. Colorado just lost two state reps in a recall...

simply because they voted for some limited gun control measures. We're a mixed bag in this country, and the moment you claim the country as liberal or conservative, something comes along to smack you down a peg or two.

[brooklynite]

5. NYC is -not- as liberal as people make it out to be...

...which is why its been 20 years since there was a Democrat in City Hall. The fact that a liberal base of Party activists (the people who vote in Primaries) picked De Blasio does not reflect citywide voting in November.

[babylonsister]

2. I love that Bill de Blasio won, but

this would simply never fly in the south, so America is not a liberal nation.

I live in GA at the moment, TX before here. Liberals are hard to find.

[egbertowillies]

3. They are hidden and not as vocal

I am in RED Kingwood Texas co-established Occupy Kingwood and watched as the liberals came out. We must let their vote catch up with their real values and what they want.

[geek tragedy]

4. Sorry, but a liberal winning the NYC Democratic primary proves about as much

as a Tea Party type winning the Republican primary in a rural Texas Congressional District.

I'll start taking notes after Di Blasio beats the Republican.

[JayhawkSD]

6. He ran on a prograssive campaign?

vowing to raise taxes on the rich, end the emphasis on “stop-and-frisk” policing, stopping a string of community hospital closures and working to make New York housing more affordable for ordinary people

That is not progressive. That is bribery. "I will tax the rich, but I won't tax you. I'll provide you with hospitals and cheap housing, and it won't cost you a dime." It's promises of what he will give the voters, and how he will make someone else pay for it.

Of course, by today's definition of "progressive," that is progressive.

FDR is idolized by progressives, but his definition of progressive was Social Security, where the people who benefit from it will pay for it.

Go ahead, I am braced for the name calling and accusations of being a right wing nutjob, a moron and an idiot, notwithstanding that I voted for Obama. No one will consider that. I must have done that as some sort of undermining tactic.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. I'll go there...

Given the massive income inequality in this country, and the fact that income tax rates for the very wealthy have plunged by more than 50% since the 1950's, I would say that raising taxes on the rich is not both progressive and pragmatic. Supporting community hospitals that bring health care to people who wouldn't otherwise have access is damned sure progressive, and trying to create affordable housing in New York City -- one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country -- is certainly progressive. And supporting the end of program that treats all African-American males as potential felons isn't necessarily progressive -- it's just common decency.

Middle class and working poor people have been screwed without mercy for the past 30 years.

[Jamaal510]

8. Sounds like Republicans

"When Americans are asked if they want Social Security they do not only say they want it, they say they are willing to pay for more. This holds true for both Democrats and Republicans."

don't know what they want. Sure, some of them probably do support SS, yet they continue to vote for people who want to ultimately eliminate it. It'll drive a person batty trying to comprehend their logic.