We have long known that the notion of a conservative American majority is bunk. Nonetheless, radical right-wing extremists in this country continue to bash everyday Americans for their values and beliefs. It's a long standing problem. Here's how Bill Clinton described it way back at the Virginia JJ Dinner in 1994:
...a lot of the time, before it became unfashionable, we demonized black people. Now we're demonizing liberals, never mind if it doesn't fit. Never mind if the facts aren't right. The people are upset, they're exercised, they're anxiety-ridden, they're cynical and skeptical about the government... So spend seventeen million dollars and tell it to 'em anyway. If it's not true who cares?
Despite the railings of right-wing media elites like Limbaugh, Coulter, Malkin, Ingram, O'Reilly, and the whole wacky "make stuff up and yell really loud" crew over at FOX Opinion MediaTM, their assertion that Americans somehow side with their deranged policies doesn't make sense and it never has.
To this point, witness the latest headline breaking story from the National Journal which identified Obama as America's most liberal Senator.
Media Matters unpacks the issue thus:
Among the "liberal" votes Sen. Barack Obama took that purportedly earned him "the most liberal senator in 2007" label in the National Journal's "2007 Vote Ratings" were: to implement the 9-11 Commission's homeland security recommendations, provide more children with health insurance, permit federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, and maintain a federal minimum wage.
Call them liberal positions, call them progressive, call them the Democratic agenda; support for these cannot be overstated. Witness these poll results which show the overwhelming support enjoyed by the broad Democratic agenda, including every one of the positions which Obama championed.
* Allowing the government to negotiate with drug companies to attempt to lower the price of prescription drugs for some senior citizens: 87% support, 12% oppose* Raising the minimum wage: 85% support, 14% oppose
* Cutting interest rates on federal loans to college students: 84% support, 15% oppose
* Creating an independent panel to oversee ethics in Congress: 79% support, 19% oppose
* Making significant changes in U.S. policy in Iraq: 77% support, 20% oppose
* Reducing the amount of influence lobbyists have in congressional decisions: 75% support, 21% oppose
* Implementing all of the anti-terrorism recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission: 64% support, 26% oppose
* Maintaining the current Social Security system to prevent the creation of private investment accounts: 63% support, 32% oppose
* Funding embryonic stem cell research: 62% support, 32% oppose
* Reducing some federal tax breaks for oil companies: 49% support, 49% oppose
* Changing the rules to allow Congress to create new spending programs only if taxes are raised or spending on other programs is cut: 41% support, 54% oppose
Oh, and don't forget S-CHIP:
S-CHIP: 81% of Americans favor giving more kids healthcare coverage by expanding the S-CHIP program.
Obama has become the fulcrum of the political pendulum which has been artificially pushed so far to the right for so long that it is is getting ready to whip back towards the mainstream with the force of a wrecking ball.
As the radical right runs madly screaming from the mainstream of American opinion, they will fall back on the tired old trick of trying to transform the term "liberal" into the political equivalent of a four-letter word. Then they will work to cudgel all of us with it, starting with Obama.
When this happens, just smile. It's further proof that conservatism has moved from the daddy state to the abusive, drunken stepfather state. Watch your underage daughters.
The conservative movement is now so far out of the mainstream of American opinion that they think American values are something to be ashamed of. It's pitiful and disgraceful, but a clear sign that what was once a movement of "big ideas", has transformed into an angry and hopeless movement spiraling towards irrelevancy.
If we are to believe the National Journal, then clearly Barack Obama stands directly in the middle of American public opinion, while the rest of the Senate has followed the lobbyists, consultants, and right-wing think-tank and media schills over the brink to radical extremism.
A great nation deserves a great President.
It's time America had a President who represents their values. It's time that America had a President who shared their own vision for the future. It's time America had a President named Barack Obama.
Thankfully, now we have other outlets and a new generation that trusts the new media more than the old media.
Whatever happens this time, the change will come. First - Howard Dean. Next - Barack Obama. Yes, we can!