According to pollster Raghavan Mayur, reporting in Investors Business Daily, 39% of Americans interviewed agree that "the U.S. is evolving into a socialist state."Of these, 63% are Republicans and 47% are Independents. These figures have doubled since late last summer, before Barack Obama came to power. Clearly, Republicans and Independents see Obama as a socialist leader.
Democrats don't agree. Only 13% of the polled Democrats think America is heading toward socialism, a percentage that is down from 20% last August. It seems that the number of Democrats who view Obama as a socialist is dwindling.
How can this be? Of the great majority of Democrats in the study who don't think that socialism is down the road, about 30% believe in government control or ownership of key industries, want a government-run health care system, and think government should redistribute wealth and income. Another 20% are "on the fence" when it comes to government-run health care, although they don't want to pay higher taxes for it.
My take is that many Democrats don't know that they support socialist precepts, and many who do know believe that America will not adopt these beliefs as policy. Others view socialism through the fashionably rose-tinted glasses worn in American universities. I have long suspected that many liberals don't hesitate to support actions that put America's interests at risk because they believe that the U.S. is invincible and that they personally will come to no harm.
Mayur's figures, if they accurately represent "the American mindset," are not heartening for supporters of capitalism. If we assume that the 13% of Democrats who anticipate a socialist U.S. also approve of socialism, then about 60% of Democrats accept socialist precepts. Of those who most strongly desire wealth redistribution, more than half are in the black and Hispanic demographic, with Hispanics accounting for 50% of the people being added to our nation's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
I'll be looking forward to Mayur's follow-up efforts to understand how Americans are "coming to grips" with the concept of socialism. If American liberals are to learn about the pitfalls of socialism before it's too late, they'll be needing all the help they can get.
Ouch. Well the good news is that most Americans in the poll oppose higher taxes. Obama's been hedging on the whole higher taxes thing, denying that it'll take place and, at the same time, telling Americans sacrifices are required. Plus he's been trying to talk about how the benefits of his programs will outweigh the overall cost... again not saying that it won't cost money out of consumer's pocket. Once this hits home and people start getting hit with nasty taxes and bills, I'm betting his popularity and viabilty will plummet. Similar events happened to Carter.
ReplyDelete