The Center-Right Myth

[kentuck]

www.thinkprogress.org

The Center-Right Myth

On Tuesday, President-elect Obama resoundingly defeated Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), delivering a mandate for Obama's progressive policy agenda. Obama ran on the most progressive platform of any presidential candidate in at least 15 years, "including a promise of universal health care coverage, a dramatic transformation to a low-carbon economy, and a historic investment in education." Nevertheless, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), whose party suffered tremendous losses Tuesday, insisted, "Democrats should not make the mistake of viewing Tuesday’s results as a repudiation of conservatism," adding, "America remains a center-right country." Similarly, Newsweek's Jon Meacham wrote an Oct.19 cover story titled "America The Conservative." In fact, some pundits are illogically arguing that both President Bush's 2004 election and Obama's 2008 election are proof that the country leans conservative. But the progressive direction of the country, symbolized in Tuesday's victory, is clear. Just prior to the election, 85 percent of Americans said they thought country was seriously off track. As Media Matters observed, "It is difficult to find an issue on which the public is more conservative now than it was 20 years ago."

THE PUNDITS' CLAIMS: An extensive list of conservative and mainstream pundits are claiming that the country is "center-right." Meacham wrote in his cover story that America "is more instinctively conservative than it is liberal" (he admitted that his argument was "probably going to look dumb, or at least out of step, for many months to come"). MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said on Oct. 29, "It is a center right country," particularly "on economic issues." Bill O'Reilly yesterday said, "America is still a center right country, even though the folks voted left last night." After the 2006 elections, pundits used the same argument. "These Democrats that were elected last night are conservative Democrats," said CBS' Bob Schieffer. "In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right," wrote the New York Times. In fact, the class of 2006, which came to power in part due to public disapproval of the Iraq war, was remarkably progressive, favoring raising the minimum wage, opposing Social Security privatization, and promoting "fair trade."

PROGRESSIVE BY THE NUMBERS: On Tuesday, the country both rejected conservative ideology as well as embraced new, progressive priorities. The latest Pew Research poll showed that only 25 percent of the public agrees with the centerpiece of the conservative tax program: making Bush's tax cuts permanent. The public also agrees by 58 percent to 35 percent that the government should guarantee "health insurance for all citizens even if it means raising taxes." Exit poll data showed that 60 percent of voters were worried about rising health care costs and that 66 percent of those people backed Obama. A majority of Americans also want to expand environmental protections, increase the minimum wage, recognize same-sex marriage, and end the Iraq war, to name a few. Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) explained that the center of the country is progressive.

MANDATE DOUBLE-TALK: Pundits also are claiming that Obama's margin of victory does not give him a mandate for progressive change. Columnist Robert Novak wrote yesterday that Obama "neither received a broad mandate from the public nor the needed large congressional majorities." But in 2004, as Bush crowed about his "political capital," Novak argued that Bush's narrow victory was "of course" proof of a conservative mandate. Winning 52.4 percent to McCain's 46.3 percent, Obama's popular vote margin stands at 7,401,289 -- more than twice Bush's 2004 vote margin -- and he netted 63 more electoral votes than Bush. Novak also dismissed the 57-seat Democratic Senate majority (with two more seats potentially up for grabs). But conservativism's so-called 2004 "mandate" netted only four new seats, for a total of 55.

[d_b]

1. the pundits can say whatever they want

won't make it true.

I welcome their repeating of the lie, means shit to me.

[soupkitchen]

2. The real trick is to govern center-right while moving the center to the left

Tell the centrists anything they want to hear, but get the progressive agenda under way.

[kentuck]

3. Bingo!

That will be the trick.