Are Democrats ready to embrace the center in the Culture War? by Bruce Wilson
This article reflects my observation that the Democrats, with the leadership of Rahm Emanuel and Charles Schumer, have strategically moved towards the center to capture the support of Middle America.
“…In many cases it was the first time in decades that voters could vote for a Democrat who was pro-life, against legalization of same-sex marriage, supportive of responsible firearm ownership, comfortable talking about his or her own personal faith and willing to allow everyone – including Christians – the opportunity to express their own faith in the public square.
…The dirty little secret of the Culture War is that it’s an artificial stalemate created by extremists on the right and left and perpetuated by a media that thrives on conflict and whose members often sympathize with one side or the other.
…the Pew study found that 66 percent of Americans think that abortion should not be generally available. There isn’t complete agreement on what restrictions should be in place, but there is agreement that current law is not restrictive enough. The study also found that 56 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage and only 35 percent favor it.
…Harris consistently reports that 60 percent of Americans favor stricter gun control and an even larger 70 percent majority favors stricter control of assault weapons.
…Gallup found that 54 percent of Americans think that state sponsorship of religion is harmful, but 58 percent support the right of any religion to exercise free speech.
My preference is for the two parties to compete for this vital center and find satisfying compromises. The Democrats are making progress while the GOP is purging moderates. I’m baffled. Even if Mr. Bush miraculously pulls off an acceptable resolution to the Middle East conflicts, our country is going to want to turn its attention to domestic issues for which the GOP is unpreparing.
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.