Thursday, June 18, 2015

Poll: Democrats Shift to Extreme Far-Left of Political Spectrum — Bernie Sanders Leads the Way!

At Gallup, "Democrats in the U.S. Shift to the Left" (via Memeorandum):
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential nomination face a significantly more left-leaning party base than their predecessors did over the last 15 years. Forty-seven percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now identify as both socially liberal and economically moderate or liberal. This is compared with 39% in these categories in 2008, when there was last an open seat for their party's nomination, and 30% in 2001.

This combined group of Democrats consists of 25% who are pure liberals -- identifying as liberal on both social and economic issues -- and 22% who are social liberals but moderate on the economy. At the other end of the ideological spectrum, a scant 7% of Democrats are socially and economically conservative. Most of the rest of Democrats have more mixed ideological leanings, with 18% moderate on both social and economic issues, and 12% socially moderate or liberal but economically conservative.
Almost half of rank-and-file Dems are very far left. And notice how this shift coincides with the hatred fueled by the ideological demonization of the G.W. Bush years, and then consolidated into the crypto-Marxism of the Barack Obama presidency. The left has taken the country to the extreme left fringes of the political spectrum, and it's not likely to ease up any time soon. As Frank Newport notes at the entry:
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton faces a more liberal base than she did when she last ran for president in 2008, and no doubt will be calibrating her positions accordingly. The shift in the electorate may help explain the attention being garnered by long-shot candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont who has used the label "socialist" to describe himself and who is avowedly liberal across the board. Two other announced Democratic candidates -- former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Republican senator from Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee -- have taken liberal positions in the past. In the 2016 election, they will be seeking to connect with the electorate on that basis, while also attempting to position themselves against Clinton on specific issues.
Yes, and the socialist Sanders is pulling up close to Hillary in the polls, "surprisingly" close. See WaPo, "Hillary Clinton only beat Bernie Sanders by 8 points in a straw poll. So?"

And at the Hill, "Sanders surges in New Hampshire poll":
Sen. Bernie Sanders is surging in New Hampshire, where one poll shows him just 10 percentage points behind Hillary Clinton and tied with the front-runner among self-identified liberals.

Sanders (I-Vt.) gets 31 percent in a new Suffolk University poll, compared to Clinton’s 41 percent. It’s one of his best showings in the Granite State.

The two are also tied among liberals at 39 percent, though Clinton holds a 20-percentage-point lead with centrist Democrats.

Clinton also holds strong leads with white voters and female voters, while Sanders has a slight lead among men.

The results come just one day after an opt-in poll from the Morning Consult showed Sanders within 12 points of Clinton.

Sanders has emerged as the leading liberal challenger to Clinton with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) declining to enter the race.
So Sanders ties Hillary among hard-core liberals at 39 percent at the Suffolk poll?

You think the Vermont socialist might pull the old "centrist" grandma to the left?

Well, check out this beautiful graphic at the Monkey Cage. The fulcrum of the Democrat presidential field is tilting way over to the left, and Hillary's going to have to out socialize Sanders on the trail -- if she's hoping to skate to her supposed coronation. And then how's that pivot back to the "moderate" center going to work out for her, heh? Boy, this is going to be a blast of a presidential primary season. Sanders even said he's in it to win. He's no spoiler!


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