In America, liberals commonly make statements like this when attempting to discuss Conservatives and/or Republicans:
“I wish the Republican party would be a conservative party and not simply pander to radical Christians and the wealthy.”
Both of these claims are gross generalizations that are totally unsupported by statistics of any kind. In truth, they are just liberal talking points that are quite effective when dealing with unarmed opponents.
In this case, however, the opponent is heavily armed and eager to dismiss such bogus claims.
It doesn’t take much thought to realize that “radical Christians” and “the wealthy” are both tiny, tiny fractions of this country’s population.
After all, it’s become fashionable to refer to the wealthy as the “1 percent.” Even if every wealthy person were Conservative (a ridiculous assumption, to be sure), this would not constitute nearly enough of the Republican party to be effective.
Furthermore, a quick perusal of the daily headlines suggests that many of the most wealthy people (in this country and all over the world) are exceedingly liberal.
For examples of this, look no further than Hollywood, George Soros, NYC’s elite, Chicago, or just about anywhere in Europe.
Why are so many extremely wealthy people so liberal? Because it’s socially advantageous. For most of these people, their continued relevance is entirely dependent upon public opinion, so their unwavering support of a party that fancies itself as “socially progressive” should be expected.
Ultimately, the modern liberal movement is based entirely on two concerns:
- Social forces and the cultural zeitgeist (the popular perception is that Republicans are uncool, uncaring, and 1950s-ish when it comes to civil rights and social issues)
- Fear, uncertainty, and doubt over a perceived enemy that cannot be named, cannot be seen, and cannot be accurately described. The typical support for such a position consists of unprovable accusations like “silent racism” or assumptions like, “Romney will be way worse.”
Rarely, if ever, does someone espousing such a position provide explicit examples or congruent statistical evidence.
In closing, I’ll be the first to admit that situations like this are tough to navigate, especially in a time where social forces matter more than ever before.
Every move is now under a social microscope (Twitter, Facebook, etc), and most people respond more to social forces and pressures than they do to anything else.
For many people, avoiding the scrutiny of others and staying in a neutral/favorable social position is paramount to all other forces. This is a HUGE reason why liberalism is such a strong force in America right now.
Unfortunately, just because a force is strong does not mean its effects are good.