As we approach the inevitable conclusion of the "Debt Ceiling Debate" [Debacle?], one wonders who our leaders are talking to. It sure doesn't seem to be the mainstream of the American people.
Various polls in past months have painted a very confusing picture [think swabs of paint on a modern art canvas] of the outlooks and attitudes of "mainstream" Americans.
The conclusions range from an ideological divide that has not existed since the American Civil War, whose 150th Anniversary we are commemorating this year, to a more traditional, centrist,"silent majority"--confused, apprehensive, and getting more and more irritated with all our elected officials. One recent poll suggests a majority of respondents is inclined to vote everybody out of office next time around.
So, who are the politicians talking to? The Pew Research Center--in doing a statistical sample--[mathematicians say these do reflect reality...okay, let's say for now they do] states that 18% are liberal, 15% conservative, 16% populist, 9% libertarian, and 42% "ambivalents" (their word.)
We don't need to go into specific definitions of, let's say "populist", or the currently popular "progressive", which is not noted in the Pew study, to see that the overwhelmingly largest percentage is "ambivalents." In traditional political science language this would mean "centrists" or "middle-of-the roaders."
Centrists may not make a lot of noise, because they are busy with their daily lives--often overcoming the results of burdensome legislation. But they are the ones who voice their views at election-time--often in the form of "upsets"--what pundits scratch their heads about, because they did not see it coming. They were too busy covering the more extreme views and sometimes rants, of the "outsiders," the "rogues". [Funny thing: Sarah Palin's documentary "The Undefeated" reportedly has taken a dive at the box-office and is now on pay-per-view.]
A majority of responders in recent polls are faulting both sides in Congress for the looming default ready to occur on August 2. These certainly are not die-hard partisans of the "Conservatives" or "Liberals".
Extremists think they are playing to the crowd...but it's a very small one. Media coverage bloats extreme positions for its own reasons--mainly viewership or readership..[and, lately, ownership by ideologues or unscrupulous money hounds]. Too often our leaders are seduced into repeating those extreme views--thinking that's a reflection of "main street"....not really, it's more like a "blind alley." You'd think they knew better: the "Center" rules.
Politicians, unfortunately, have to play their roles--often in a straitjacket with the word "(pick one, any one) Party stitched into it. A report in McClatchy Newspapers (7/26/11) detailed numerous lawmakers doing the obligatory "flip-flop" on raising the debt ceiling since 2002. Most significantly--among many others--President Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006 when he was a Senator, and current House Speaker, John Boehner, voted more than once to raise the debt ceiling limits under the Bush Administration--raising the limit to $6.4 trillion and $8.2 trillion respectively.
Writer Tony Pugh stated in his analysis: "In the battle to raise the debt ceiling, politics usually trumps principle."
As the sides posture to what they think is their base--and it's a majority by no means--they should remember the immutable truth of the arena in which they act---the Center is watching and the Center does not like to be taken for fools.
