Kerry only represents 19% of america...
Liberalism, Liberalism, Liberalism. Here is the crux of the problem. One has to wonder why the Democrats feel that being labeled a liberal is a liability in a general election. Do they feel that their policies, philosophies, and ideologies are too far left of the mainstream? As I mentioned earlier, John Kerry made a point to claim he was mainstream, and that Bush and his administration was extreme after winning Washington and Michigan, but is this truly the case? According to "Americans for Democratic Action" John Kerry receives a higher lifetime liberal rating than Paul Tsongas and Ted Kennedy. Now that we know how liberals rank one of their own rank and file members, let us compare that with where mainstream Americans lay. According to a Gallup poll conducted from October through November of 2003, 41 percent of Americans identify themselves as conservative, 39 percent as moderates, and only 19 percent as liberal. This means that a better than two to one margin of 'mainstream Americans' are conservative over liberal, and a greater than four to one margin are to the right of John Kerry. As you can see, fighting back against this label means that Kerry and the Democrats are well aware that their vision for American is not the vision that mainstream America has for itself. Being a liberal politician means you have relatively few markets for success, and in a national race, it can spell defeat for those who do not attempt to pander to the true 'Mainstream America" and distance themselves from their own record and political ideology. |
