There’s been a lot of evidence recently that the Bush administration is causing (or perhaps amplifying) an ideological shift among the American public away from Reagan/Gingrich conservatism, towards something resembling social democracy. That might be a touch pollyanna, but check out the latest data from the massive Pew survey released last week. Kevin Drum runs down the most important data points: a sharp decline in the percentage of voters identifying themselves as Republicans, a significant increase in the percentage of people who think “government should help the needy even if it means greater debt,” and similar decline in the percentage of people who think “school boards should have the right to fire homosexual teachers.”
In other words the populace is getting a) more socially liberal b) more economically progressive c) more identified with the Democratic party.
