Journalists have a special affection for The Center, a political zone free of ideology and dogma where sensible public policy can emerge. But the centrism celebrated by corporate media isn’t actually the absence of an ideology–it’s a political point of view like any other.
That doesn’t do much to blunt Big Media’s desire to celebrate The Middle as a place where Americans throw off what divides them and come together for a rational discussion of how to fix the country’s problems.
What media don’t tend to do is define The Center as “Things Most People Support,” because letting people know that most Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy, cutting military spending or providing single-payer healthcare would make the elite political debate seem like it’s well to the right of the public.
Enter the new NBC/Esquire poll, which purports to reveal the “New American Center.” But there’s not much new here, really–if you can manage to even comprehend what it is they’re trying to say.
The survey asked a series of questions about a variety of political issues, and then broke down the respondents into eight categories:
two on the far right (“The Righteous Right” and “The Talk Radio Heads”), two on the far left (“The Bleeding Hearts” and “The Gospel Left”), and four in the middle that represent nothing less than a new American center (“Minivan Moderates,” “The MBA Middle,” “The Pick-up Populists” and “The #WhateverMan.”)
So when NBC is talking about what the “center” is, they mean only those four last-mentioned categories. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams (10/15/13) reported that the poll revealed a stark contrast with the government shutdown crisis:
Because of these clashing extremes in Washington right now, it is easy to believe the same political divide exists in cities and towns and neighborhoods all across our country and might just define our country and our politics these days.
This is off to a bad start already. The shutdown–in which a small segment of the Republican Party shut down the government in an effort to get a healthcare law defunded–had nothing to do with “clashing extremes.” Reporter Chuck Todd continued in the same vein:
You’ve been conditioned to look at American politics in 2-D, blue and red, left and right. But that’s not what you are. A new NBC News/Esquire survey finds we all could use a pair of 3-D glasses because there’s a growing political center that doesn’t comfortably fit into the forced political stereotypes of the past.
It’s hard to imagine there are many people who look at politics as exclusively a battle between Republicans and Democrats–despite elite media outlets like NBC‘s efforts to feed that impression with how they structure political debates.
So what does the exciting new center believe? “The center is as diverse as the country,” Todd tells viewers. Which isn’t really true. As the survey write-up notes, it’s overwhelmingly white (78 percent), and only 5 percent black.
But on some major policy issues, the views of the “center” would appear, based on those musty old political categories, to lean left. They want to raise taxes on the wealthy, support gun control, raise the minimum wage and legalize marijuana. The center, broadly speaking, supports reproductive rights and gay marriage, has a non-interventionist view of foreign policy, wants to cut military spending and supports a carbon tax on polluters.
That’s not the say NBC‘s mostly-white center is entirely progressive. It is wary of immigration reform and affirmative action, supports the death penalty along with drilling for oil and gas, and takes a hawkish view of the federal budget.
But on balance, it seems to me that this center is well left of midway between the two major political parties; on some issues, it’s arguably to the left of the Democratic Party. As Salon.com‘s Alex Parene put it (10/15/13) put it, NBC‘s center “is well to the left of the Washington consensus on specific economic issues.”
That’s not really the message you’re likely to get from discussions of the poll. NBC Nightly News was careful to portray their center as being very balanced–they support gay marriage but oppose affirmative action, Todd explained, and while “52 percent are okay with legalizing marijuana….79 percent believe government is spending too much money.”
That’s true, according to the poll. But it seems more important to note that NBC‘s rather narrow, rather white “center” leans more to the left than the right. For all the talk about America as a center-right nation, this poll–with all its shortcomings–should send a message to journalists that the “middle” is further left than they usually portray it.
“But that’s not what you are.”
I think that’s a telling remark, don’t you?
Just who is “you” supposed to be?
Might it be the people who “count”, or more accurately, who are purported to count, as media elites strive to create the illusion that they aren’t servants to power, but advocates for the everyperson?
In this equation, the “sensible center”, myth that it may be, is transmogrified into “the real America”
And all outside of it – well, at least those to the “left” of it – are to be ignored, or maligned.
And who the deuce comes up with these category labels?
Oy …
The press, pundits, and the politicians like to define the world as Left vs. Right in order to distract us from the real classification: compassion vs. greed!
I’ve learned to discount or ignore anything Chuck Todd says. He’s repeatedly demonstrated that he not only seems to not understand what journailism is, but goes out of his way to demonstate that fact. Plus a lot of what he says is just dumb, How do these people get and keep their positions? No, really–how?
Brian Williams? Well, the best I can say is he’s not as bad as David Gregory or Wolf Blitzer. But he sure looks good.
So their interpretation of this survey–heck,of anything–is all hat and no cattle. (I’m not from Texas, but ya gotta love that saying.)
I wonder how Rachel Maddow feels when she has to interview Todd or play a clip of one of his commentaries. I’d like to think, and I would hope, that she has to do so, him sort of being higher up the corporate ladder than her, and that she’d rather just pie him.
The battle is between those who say stupid things like most Americans are Ok with taxing the rich,cutting the military,and turning our healthcare into socialism 101.Then you have those other people who ask troubling questions like ;;;since the wealthy already pay near 90% of all taxes and 50% pay near nothing.How much of the load is it fair for them to carry?On the military……are we now prepared for incursions by the Chinese the Russians,and any number of upstarts into our national security zone(The answer is no.Our force readiness is down 50% since Obama came in.And dropping fast)So how far down should we allow this to go?And on socialized healthcare.Is the theory that sooner or later you always run out of other folks money ringing a bell?Is the fact that we are now in dept 17 trillion with unfunded liabilities of 170 trillion bothering anyone?We never had the money to fund Obama care in the first place.It is now 4x higher than that!Socialized would be the next step down that ladder.So where will this money come from?The rich?hahah.If you took all their money and multiplied it by 10…..you would pay for the government for but a few days.A month or two at best.And that is a one shot deal.So you see the very template of the questions you say Americans believe in- are non sensical,non starters..Then you claim the republicans shut down the government.Well i suppose they did.When Obama came to them to fund a healthcare system 4x the cost promised and much changed they said woa there.This is worse than the monstrosity we voted against.Lets talk.We will fund everything else but this is insanity.Obama said no .When the sanity in the tea party was over ruled and the dumb ass old guard asked for just one thing…That the president and his legislative branch live under Obama care ,the president said hell no.Your questions are all framed .Empty frames may I add.Not an once of sense, of the reality of what it is you are talking about is evident.And that is exactly how you want your electorate.Dumbed down.People in Obamas cadre like to say healthcare is the law.It must be funded fully(even if it goes up ten times)And enacted without delay(except where Obama wants to delay it)Hey didnt we pass a law to build a fence on the boarder about 15 years ago.And its is fully funded already?Just sayin
I live in rural, NW Ohio. There is no center. There is white, Christian Republican, which makes up almost 70% of the population (based on voting records) and the other 30% who are vampires who only come out at night. Every local political office, save one, is held by a Republican. Many races don’t even have a Democratic challenger. Even in local main line churches, the pastors tend to be quite conservative.
As an atheist and a political/social liberal, it can be quite a lonely place to live. :)
Mr. Bruce Gerenscer, you live in rural Ohio, and find it an immensely lonely place to live. Give yourself a break, and move to a town more in keeping with your outlook and feelings.
Of course this poll is revealing, but nothing really new. People are complex and few are easily categorized as red or blue. But it serves the purposes of those in power much better if we are all pictured as being as venal, immature, greedy and reprehensible as those in Congress and the political machine in general.
For example, during the shutdown debacle even “liberal” NPR continually quotes the Right by presenting the ACA in disparaging terms – their choice of language and phrasing is so important and so carefully chosen. Someone not paying attention or just turning on the radio only hears NPR saying negative things about Obamacare. What about those it helps? Any word on them, or is this issue only important in regards to how the GOP views it?
All across the country people live and work and interact with others who may have different beliefs than our own. The majority get along, and may even have respect for each other and enjoy close friendships, despite these differences. Anyone with common sense knows this.
And Bruce G shouldn’t have to move to find a place more aligned to him, politically. There are people everywhere with similar beliefs, you just have to find them.
Bruce.Strange question but how good a job are they(The Rs) doing in your neck of the woods?And what was the voting % against Obama where you live?There were one or two areas there that were 100% OBAMA(BY THE WAY THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE) in Ohio as I recall.Same in Phila.So I would be interested in your rating the “livability” of your conservative area.
Hey John,
Too old to move. I have six grown children and nine grandchildren and they all live within 20 minutes of our home. Family is very important to me, so I endure being a liberal Democrat island in a sea of Republicans. Such a burden to bear. :)
The cost of living here is quite affordable, with housing prices that people in major cities only dream of. (we live in an old fixer-upper, built in 1871, on a half acre, which we bought for 63,000.00) My sister lives in Phoenix and I am astounded by how expensive housing is. Of course, low-cost housing also means lower wages. (factory jobs in this area tend to pay between 10.00 and 25.00 an hour, with most jobs on the lower end of the wage scale) Most job growth is occurring in healthcare related jobs.
So, I am here, come what may.
Bruce
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