Those hoping that the partisan polarization of our politics will ease anytime soon will be disappointed in the latest Gallup poll.
"Americans have become significantly more likely to identify as liberal in their views on social issues over the past quarter century," Gallup noted earlier this month. "Meanwhile, Americans still lean conservative on economic issues, but the percentage leaning liberal has been trending up slightly."
But this isn't due to conservatives leaning more left. It's because the left is getting more radical.
"Both trends toward more liberal views than in the past are driven by U.S. Democrats; neither Republicans nor independents have become more liberal in their views over time," Gallup adds.
Over time, the shift to the far left has become more pronounced. In 2004, "39 percent of Democrats described their views on social issues as "liberal/very liberal"; in 2024, 69 percent of Democrats describe themselves that way," writes Reason's J.D. Tuccille. That buttresses a theory that I have had for decades: the presidency of Barack Obama radicalized the Democratic Party.
Obama was a faux radical. He was "inauthentic" as the radical left says today. But his radical policies and two terms as president empowered the far left as they had never been before.
Bill Clinton sidelined the radicals, preferring "Main Street Democrats." In the early part of the century, there was actually a Democratic Party pro-life caucus. And Democrats helped George Bush pass some enlightened tax cuts.
After Clinton, the model for Democrats wasn't "Main Street" but rather the California coastal elites. That shift has driven almost all the Clinton-era "Mainst Street Democrats" out of the party.
On economic issues, the right is only slightly more conservative than it used to be.
In 2004, 28 percent of Democrats said they were "liberal/very liberal" on economics, which grew to 49 percent in 2024. For Republicans, the number went from 5 percent to 3 percent, and for Independents, from 16 percent to 18 percent.
The ranks of those describing themselves as "conservative/very conservative" on economic issues went from 64 percent of Republicans, 36 percent of Independents, and 26 percent of Democrats to 82 percent of Republicans, 35 percent of Independents, and 5 percent of Democrats.
The Gallup numbers are not indicative of support or opposition on specific issues. Think about what "economically conservative" meant 20 years ago. Reagan's philosophy of free trade, low taxes, and little government interference in people's lives dominated at that time. "Socially liberal" meant being pro-choice and supportive of civil liberties.
In our ideologically messy year of 2024, the Republican party is protectionist and more supportive of state guidance of the economy. Democrats have adopted identitarian concerns and elevated controlling "disinformation" over protecting free speech. Republicans and Democrats describe themselves in increasingly stark contrast, but their reference points for "liberal" and "conservative" might be different than in the past.
Blogger Kevin Drum says, "Progressives have been bragging publicly about pushing the Democratic Party leftward since at least 2004—and they've succeeded... Democrats have been moving further and further away from the median voter for years."
On abortion, the change is radical. "Among Republicans, the most extreme view on abortion (always illegal) has gone up by about two points since 2000. Among Democrats, the most extreme view (always legal) has gone up by 20 points," Drum noted.
What's more, Drum admits that "Over the past two decades Democrats have moved left far more than Republicans have moved right." And it has been Democrats who have "turned America into a culture war battle," claims Drum.
Not only are Democrats driving the culture war, but they are constantly trying to divide America into races, genders, sexual preferences, nationalities, and any other personal attribute that would allow them to control a group.
The toxicity of the Democratic Party is driving the U.S. to ruin.
