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Originally Posted by loquitur
The problem I have with the left-leaners is that they naturally assume every social issue has to have a governmental solution, which is precisely wrong.
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loquitor...it is actually the left-leaners and the center....the majority of the country?
Although I wouldnt go as far as to say either group (left or center) believes it applies to "every social issue."
Its reinforced to some degree by a recent survey from the Pew Research Center....hell, even a growing number of conservatives have seen the light:
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Support for government programs to help disadvantaged Americans, as well as sympathy for the plight of the poor, have surged since 1994 and returned to levels last seen in 1990 prior to welfare reform, with gains occurring among virtually every major social, political and demographic group.
Some of the biggest increases in concern for the needy have come from unexpected sources: political conservatives.....Today, 48% of all conservatives are willing to accept deficit spending to help those who cannot help themselves.
At the same time, the proportion of Americans who sympathize with the plight of the nation's poor also has increased since 1994, rising in virtual lockstep with changing views on the need to expand the social safety net....Taken together, these changes have pushed support for government assistance to the disadvantaged up to where it stood in the late 1980s, well before Republicans won control of Congress in 1994....
....Support for a stronger federal safety net has increased both among Republicans (+9) as well as Democrats (+14) and independents (+15). At the same time, the gap in support levels between the GOP and Democrats has increased from 25 to 30 points.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/467/social-safety-net
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