Moments ago, David Gregory on Meet The Press asked a question of the panel, reflecting back on the 2010 midterm election. He phrased it in terms of the moderate voter moving away from President Obama and more to the Right. There's just one thing wrong with that comment. Referring to Independents as Moderates is no longer a legitimate perspective. The political spectrum has changed and our media talking heads have yet to make the adjustment.
I wrote a post about this a long time ago, yet no one seems to be catching on.
See A New Trend: Being an "Independent" Voter
Visit any Conservative web site where a forum is in place. Ask the Conservatives if they identify themselves as Republicans or Conservatives. Ask them!!!
Their answer will be the following.
They no longer associate themselves with the Republican party. They are Independents. THAT'S RIGHT. Those Conservatives are now calling themselves Independents. Conservatives who do not align themselves with the Republican party are not moderate Conservatives. They are fringe Conservatives. They believe in far Right policies. They will never support a Democratic agenda, let alone a moderate agenda. When news organizations conduct their polls and end the questionnaire by asking if participants identify themselves as a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent, do you see now how these polls can suddenly make it seem as though the general public is against what Barack Obama and the Democrats are doing? The terminology needs to change. An Independent and a Moderate voter are not one and the same.
Leading up to the 2008 presidential election, we saw this trend. After Barack Obama won, we continued to see this split on the Conservative side of the fence. Our news outlets have not fully recognized the trend. They are asleep at the wheel. This sort of trend has existed on the Left for some time now. Only until recently has the "Independent" voice on the Right gained any traction.
So...will someone in the media shake some screws loose and stop referring to Independents as people who vote from the middle? It's misleading. Even top Conservatives in Washington, from Mitch McConnell to John Boehner have used this "statistic" to spin politics in their favor, claiming middle America is on their side when in fact, this is not the case.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome, but I will not sit here and entertain the rants of just any visitor that comes along. Bloggers generally want visitors that can read a post and both improve and expand on ideas, not debate them. I am looking for comments that advance thought. Insight is more productive than an insult. Be productive, not disruptive. Adding to a discussion you disagree with in a constructive manner allows the opportunity to get a feel for a view you may not have fully understood. I can pull any chucklehead off the street who disagrees with me. Don't be a chucklehead.
Comments are moderated and will not appear until I approve them.