Which political group is mainstream (was Re: The American Political Landscape Today)
On Sun, 15 May 2005 13:04:29 -0700 (PDT), Gautam Mukunda wrote In particular, the categories are not continuous, obviously enough. Again with the tubular cured meat. Left, middle and right are not continuous! At what center are the centrists? What are the middle-of-the-road people in the middle of? From the report: The Republican Party's current advantage with the center makes up for the fact that the GOP-oriented groups, when taken together, account for only 29% of the public. By contrast, the three Democratic groups constitute 41% of the public. And: At the other end of the political spectrum, Liberals have swelled to become the largest voting bloc in the typology. Liberals are opponents of an assertive foreign policy, strong supporters of environmental protection, and solid backers of government assistance to the poor. This affluent, well-educated, highly secular group is consistently liberal on social issues, ranging from freedom of expression to abortion. In contrast, Conservative Democrats are quite religious, socially conservative and take more moderate positions on several key foreign policy questions. The group is older, and includes many blacks and Hispanics; of all the core Democratic groups, it has strongest sense of personal empowerment. And: Taken together, the three Democratic groups make up a larger share of registered voters than do the three Republican groups (44% vs. 33%). And how about this one? Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) have a favorable opinion of Bill Clinton, the highest positive rating of 11 political figures tested. Six-in- ten have a favorable opinion of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and about the same number have a positive view of Sen. John McCain (59%). Who is mainstream, according to this report? Who, Gautam Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Which political group is mainstream (was Re: The American Political Landscape Today)
--- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Who is mainstream, according to this report? Who, Gautam Nick Not you, Nick. Most Americans don't think God has an opinion on marginal tax rates, and most of those who do don't share yours. I am comfortable with my own position as pretty near the median voter. Could you even _find_ the median voter? Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Freedom is not free http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Which political group is mainstream (was Re: The American Political Landscape Today)
On Mon, 16 May 2005 09:00:12 -0700 (PDT), Gautam Mukunda wrote Not you, Nick. Most Americans don't think God has an opinion on marginal tax rates, and most of those who do don't share yours. When you write stuff like this, as if I'm another God-in-my-back-pocket prosperity-Gospel preacher, I'm pissed off. I'm angry when I hear you misrepresenting ideas that are very important to me, life and death issues. I'm certain that you know you are way out of line. Nick ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Which political group is mainstream (was Re: The American Political Landscape Today)
--- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: When you write stuff like this, as if I'm another God-in-my-back-pocket prosperity-Gospel preacher, I'm pissed off. I'm angry when I hear you misrepresenting ideas that are very important to me, life and death issues. I'm certain that you know you are way out of line. Nick Then _distinguish what you believe_ from that, Nick. I posted on how your use of religion makes me - someone from a different faith - enormously uncomfortable. It was ignored. Instead I just got more appeals to the Divinity for whatever policy you appear to favor today. I would say that someone who dragoons God into supporting his own policies is out of line, not someone who is perturbed by it. Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Freedom is not free http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com Discover Yahoo! Find restaurants, movies, travel and more fun for the weekend. Check it out! http://discover.yahoo.com/weekend.html ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Which political group is mainstream (was Re: The American Political Landscape Today)
On May 16, 2005, at 10:38 AM, Gautam Mukunda wrote: --- Nick Arnett [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: When you write stuff like this, as if I'm another God-in-my-back-pocket prosperity-Gospel preacher, I'm pissed off. I'm angry when I hear you misrepresenting ideas that are very important to me, life and death issues. I'm certain that you know you are way out of line. Nick Then _distinguish what you believe_ from that, Nick. I don't think he has to. I don't see evidence of the nasty bite of fundamentalism in many of Nick's comments. What I see is someone working to reconcile a faith, but not someone using it as a beat-stick. I posted on how your use of religion makes me - someone from a different faith - enormously uncomfortable. It was ignored. Instead I just got more appeals to the Divinity for whatever policy you appear to favor today. I would say that someone who dragoons God into supporting his own policies is out of line, not someone who is perturbed by it. I don't see any evidence of Nick using any deity as a prop for supporting his policies, but then, maybe I missed something. It seems to me more that he's basing his ideas in his personal understanding of his faith, which -- and this is really remarkable -- is organic. Rather than falling back on a hardline stance that brooks no argument, Nick seems to be willing to discuss, concede and adapt. Also, as an atheist, I feel I can ask you why others' discussing -- or even basing their views in -- their religion makes you uncomfortable. Do you feel they're evangelizing, and thus minimizing your perspective? Or do you feel they're overlooking other ideals, possibly from your own background, that are equally valid? If either, what would be the harm in pointing out the lacunae? -- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress The Seven-Year Mirror http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
