Polls are interesting, but not very effective at predicting the future much farther out than the weather forecast. What they predict will happen in an hour is pretty reliable, next week or next month, forget it.
But a new Zogby poll does raise a bit of a question about Ron Paul's support in New Hampshire. While he comes in second only to Romney (38%-24%) a bit of digging uncovered this little tid-bit:
One exception to Mr. Romney’s broad support is among single people, where Mr. Paul was backed by about half of all single voters. Mr. Paul also led among self-identified liberals.
We all know that Ron Paul carries with him a strong "libertarian" philosophy, and that's fine for as Ronald Reagan opined way back in 1975 "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism".
But in today's world where the TEA party and others within the GOP are pushing for more "conservative" candidates, is it time for us to review our understanding of the terms being used.
One of the hardest chores of any newcomer to politics is to define himself/herself before someone else does. As the old saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression.
What does it mean to be a "conservative"? What does it mean to be a "liberal"? What does it mean to be a "libertarian" or a "progressive"?
Glenn Beck has declared that he hates progressives. Lately, in order to avoid what they perceived as the negative stigma of being called "liberals" many democrats have begun calling themselves "progressives". Has this blurred the definition? Do people really use the words to mean anything, or do they just use them to evoke a public response?
These are among the findings of the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 7-11, 2011 among 1,521 adults that tests reactions to words frequently used in current political discourse. Another term in the news, libertarian, continues to receive a mixed public reaction: 38% have a positive view, 37% negative, and nearly a quarter (24%) have no opinion either way. Interestingly, some of the most positive views of libertarianism come from groups on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. People who agree with the Tea Party movement see libertarianism positively by a 51% to 36% margin, as do liberal Democrats by a 47% to 32% margin. And while the word libertarian receives a very positive reaction from younger Americans, older people tend to view it negatively.
Both of the ideological descriptions used most frequently in American politics – conservative and liberal – receive more positive than negative reactions from the American public. But the positives for conservative (62%) are higher than for liberal (50%). This gap mainly reflects the balance of what people call themselves; more people consistently call themselves conservative than liberal in public opinion polling. Those who think of themselves as politically “moderate” give similarly positive assessments to both words.
As many Democratic strategists have argued, the term progressive receives a far more positive reaction from the American public than the term liberal (67% vs 50%), though the difference is primarily among Republicans. [Pew Research Center]
It appears that people are very willing to label themselves and to express opinions about how they have labeled others without much thought about their core beliefs.
It has always been my opinion that we humans have far more things in common with each other than we have differences, and the things we share in common are far more important to us than the things over which we differ. But it doesn't serve those who carve up population maps for political purposes very well to adopt this kind of approach. If they can divide us first we are easier to manipulate.
A herd of cattle will not voluntarily load themselves into a truck for the slaughterhouse if you park it in the middle of their pasture. You have to corral them, divide them into smaller groups and then drive them into position.
Looking at the Zogby poll Ron Paul scores very well among those who identify themselves as "liberals". According to Pew, this combined with the positive view of the term "libertarian" means that in the broader group of November voters, his definition of himself plays better than during a republican primary.
But to many republicans hung up on trying to elect more "conservatives" they ought to look at these numbers very carefully. What they will see is that Ron Paul has very deftly labeled himself as a "constitutional conservative", carries with him a reputation as being a "libertarian" and therefore has broad appeal among "liberals".
Should this concern republicans? Should it concern self described "conservatives"? That depends upon how you define your terms.
Right now the candidates are playing the political harp. They know what harmonizes with our thinking. They are moving us toward the corral leading the way like a pied piper.
What voters need to do is avoid the cooing sounds of self imposed labels and look carefully at the principles, agendas and character of the individuals who are running. We need to read the books rather than judging the content by the covers.
Yes, and Ron Paul's books are text book definitions of constitutional conservatism and dedicated to libertarianism. Oh, and if you check his voting record he is THE most conservative member of congress.
Finally these are not new positions for Dr. Paul he has held and supported these positions for nearly 30 years, Making him undisputedly a consistent candidate, and in my opinion the only one I can remember.
Posted by: Sean Genung | January 12, 2012 at 08:40 AM