| AMERICA'S PROGRESSIVE MAJORITY: Some have argued that the election results were actually an endorsement of conservatism. Columnist George Will predicted, "We could be seeing the creation of a more conservative House of Representatives than the one we just had." CNBC anchor Larry Kudlow claimed the "changeover in the House may well be a conservative victory, not a liberal one." Even the Washington Post, in a front page analysis, declared that the election showed that the nation "leans slightly the right of center." This analysis is seriously flawed. The election results were notably mixed: some progressives won (Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)) and others lost (Ned Lamont (D-CT)); some centrist or center-right candidates won (Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)) and others lost (Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN), Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI)). But according to a Media Matters analysis of the 27 candidates who (as of the morning of Nov. 8) had unseated majority Republicans or won open seats previously held by the majority party, all support a core progressive agenda. All 27 candidates back raising the minimum wage, advocate changing course in Iraq, and oppose efforts to privatize Social Security. Only two of the 27 oppose embryonic stem cell research, and only five describe themselves as "pro-life." In fact, the significant shift on Tuesday was the collapse of the "Reagan Coalition" voting bloc that had been nurtured by the conservative movement for 20 years. Majorities of every income category under $100,000; six in 10 of both moderates and independents; all non-college educated voters; and the majority of Catholics, all voted for change. In other words, the so-called Reagan Democrats -- economic-minded, working class voters concentrated heavily in the Rust Belt -- returned home to the progressive movement. |
