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The death of conservatism is greatly exaggerated

by E.D. Kain

This new Gallup poll should speak volumes:

Remember – this isn’t Rasmussen or Redstate.   This is Gallup.  So next time someone shows up in your combox claiming that “conservatism is dead” or some such nonsense, just point to this.  Conservatism isn’t dead, it’s just off kilter.  It needs reorientation.  Or perhaps a charismatic leader.

Hope and change, baby.

Read the entire Gallup entry, but here’s some tidbits just for fun:

In addition to the increase in conservatism on this general ideology measure, Gallup finds higher percentages of Americans expressing conservative views on several specific issues in 2009 than in 2008.

Gallup has not recorded heightened conservatism on all major social and political views held by Americans. For instance, attitudes on the death penalty, gay marriage, the Iraq war, and Afghanistan have stayed about the same since 2008. However, there are no major examples of U.S. public opinion becoming more liberal in the past year. (Gallup’s annual trends on healthcare will be updated in November, so those attitudes are not included in this review.)


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16 comments

1 Mike at The Big Stick { 10.26.09 at 12:23 pm }

ED,

I’m interested in how you think this ties in with opinions that the GOP should move to the middle in order to revitalize itself? If it gets back to square i.e. following truly (mainstream) conservative policies, is that enough? That graph seems to indicate a traditional conservative approach would pull in 40% of voters with another 36% up for grabs but already inclined to lean rightward.

E.D. Kain
October 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

I think it depends on the issue. Moving left on issues like gay marriage will be a long-term success. Staying the party of the pro-life movement, conversely, will also make sense. So it really just depends.

Mike at The Big Stick
October 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

I agree with you. I just don’t think ’seek the Center’ is a winning strategy as a general approach which is unfortunately what some Republicans have in mind.

Dennis Sanders
October 26th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

Well, since you and I have chatted about this Mike, I think it all depends on what the “center” is. I am coming to the conclusion it means different things to different people, and making a move to the center doesn’t mean a whole lot until it is defined.

Mike at The Big Stick
October 26th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

Well as i have said here and elsewhere, I think when people allude to the Center they are mostly talking about the Independents.

2 Gold Star for Robot Boy { 10.26.09 at 12:26 pm }

I’d like to see this poll with “liberal” swapped out for “progressive.”

E.D. Kain
October 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

What do you think the results would be?

Lev
October 26th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

Usually, the polls that ask the question in this way wind up showing about even numbers for conservative and liberal/progressive. Which makes sense, even considering that the term conservative means different things to different people. Heck, calling the Bill Clinton years conservative strikes me as fundamentally correct. If the GOP were to adopt Clintonomics wholesale (with perhaps some means-testing and such), mostly adopt Clinton’s foreign policy (minus the foreign miscues) and keep much of the social conservatism, they’d be both conservative and highly electorally successful.

Gold Star for Robot Boy
October 26th, 2009 at 2:33 pm

A far higher result for “progressive.”
In 2006 and 2008, with the nation giving control of Congress back to the Democrats and then electing a Democrat to the White House by a margin not seen in decades, “liberal” tops out at 22 percent? Really? That makes me think the word itself now has such a negative connotation, many people with liberal beliefs don’t want to be labeled as such.

3 Kyle { 10.26.09 at 2:07 pm }

I thought that was an interesting poll when contrasted with Party ident, however, on the specific issues, I imagine a lot of that is remnant anxiety and anger from the last 14 months of economic meltdown. The numbers on government involvement, traditional involvement, unions and immigration have to be soft shifts in relation to the jobs climate.

In essence, I think the things that haven’t changed detail a more reliable political map for the GOP and the future of conservatism, also the Democrats and future of their coalition. What does it say that for Republicans that for general attitudes to remain favorable for them, the economy has to create anxiety and shed jobs.

4 Bob Cheeks { 10.27.09 at 2:30 am }

ED, do you find this surprising so early in BO’s administration? Also, there appears to be a contest developing between ‘conservatives’ and the GOP where conservatives are running their own candidates if the GOP puts up RINOS or Democrat wanna bees. I noticed even the Neocon Hannity is backing the ‘conservative’ in the NY race against the GOP contender. Does this indicate a conservative split in the GOP?

North
October 28th, 2009 at 12:42 pm

Well if they are splitting then it’ll be nice for us Libs since they won’t be able to muster a majority again for a generation.

Kyle
October 28th, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Contra the conventional wisdom of the bystander here, doesn’t that just mean that frustrated center-right types will join the Democrats and drag the party to the right/threaten progressive dominance of the Democratic caucus.

If the GOP becomes a political failed state, that just means more political refugees to the left and really, I can’t imagine (considering the left’s view of Ben Nelson/Joe Lieberman these days) they’d be excited for an influx of Obama Republicans, or – for that matter – the return of the neocons.

5 John Howard Griffin { 10.27.09 at 6:40 am }

I think the poll does “speak volumes”: Tribalism. Dogmatic defense of ideology. Politics.

Hey, look! America is conservative (and Christian, too)! Alert the media!

The political and commercial morals of the United States are not merely food for laughter, they are an entire banquet.

- Mark Twain, Mark Twain in Eruption

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