Republican politicians, more than their Democratic counterparts, tend to campaign on anti-Washington themes. That’s kind of odd, suggests The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky, given that one of Washington’s quintessential institutions, Congress, helps the GOP by playing a crucial role in obscuring the American people’s fondness for liberal socioeconomic policies.
“If Congress is what you see when you see America,” wrote Tomasky in a Tuesday column, “then you see a place where roughly half—no, more than half—of the people think that raising the minimum wage is radical, or that health care is a privilege you have to earn, or that climate change is a fantasy…Out in the real country, only crackpots think these things…But the crackpot community is dramatically overrepresented in Washington and skews the way all these things are discussed and described on shows like Morning Joe.”
From Tomasky’s piece, which carried the straight-outta-2009 headline “Sorry, Teabaggers: America Really Loves These Liberal Policies” (bolding added):
I keep hearing Joe Scarborough go off on how the great unwritten story of this election season is how far left the Democratic Party has moved…The idea, I suppose, is that this will be the Democratic Achilles Heel this fall…
Nonsense. To the extent that the Democratic Party has moved left, it’s mostly as a consequence of following, not leading, public opinion…
Let’s start with some of Bernie Sanders’s positions…
…The system is rigged in favor of the 1 percent. That’s not left wing, that’s just a statement of the obvious…For those who need such things, here’s a poll result from this month. Is the system rigged? Saying yes, 85 percent. Saying no, 4 percent…
…78 percent of America thinks Citizens United was a bad decision…
…Here’s one poll of many showing high support for [a $15 hourly minimum wage]—63 percent…
…Free health care. This does less well, but still wins a plurality of 39-33…
What about some of [Hillary] Clinton’s signature proposals?...79 percent of America [supports paid family leave].
…58 percent support legalizing pot. The story is the same on same-sex marriage, contraceptive rights…
…The Democrats’ new positions look radical if you can only look at the world through a Beltway-specific, and indeed Capitol Hill-specific, lens.
Because if Congress is what you see when you see America, then you see a place where roughly half—no, more than half—of the people think that raising the minimum wage is radical, or that health care is a privilege you have to earn, or that climate change is a fantasy…or that everyone up to and including school teachers ought to carry loaded guns.
Out in the real country, only crackpots think these things…But the crackpot community is dramatically overrepresented in Washington and skews the way all these things are discussed and described on shows like Morning Joe.
So no, these positions aren’t radical. Or come to think of it, if they are, then it is because the American middle class has been somewhat radicalized.
