2014 won't be a replay of 2010, by @DavidOAtkins

2014 won't be a replay of 2010

by David Atkins

The eye-opening graph of the day comes from Aaron Blake at the Washington Post:



Note the dramatic decline in the conservative advantage on issues, particularly economic ones, since 2010. Now, I'm a little curious as to how these questions are operationalized, since I have a difficult time believing that conservatives actually hold an advantage on social issues at all.

Still, even if there is some bias in the construction of the graph, there's no questioning the marked trend in toward progressives since 2010. As Aaron notes:

hat's now within the margin of error, and it comes just four years after they had a 17-point advantage.
They also lead by 21 points on economic issues — down from 36 points in 2010 and tied for the lowest advantage of this century.

As in 2010, the GOP is approaching a midterm in which it hopes to make huge gains. This chart suggests their underlying philosophy is hardly as strong an asset as it was back then. And indeed, it's weaker than it has been at any point since Bill Clinton's presidency.

The GOP's shoddy brand is perhaps the Democrats' best hope for limited losses in 2014. The waning advantages of the conservative ideology should help in that effort, too.
It also means that something is going on, culturally, to make economic progressivism far more attractive to the electorate at a rapid pace. Democratic politicians should take advantage of that.


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