I don't think we disagree all that much, but two points. First: The best positions, from a political standpoint, aren't always the ones a majority of voters agrees with. As I've said before, the public generally supports gun control and opposes affirmative action, but overall an American candidate will lose more votes than he'll gain by siding with the majority, due to single-issue voting.
Secondly: The importance of different issues depends a lot on the agenda of the moment. Americans trust Democrats more on health care, for example, and Democratic positions on health care are closer to the mainstream. But nobody expects any significant health care initiatives in the foreseeable future; Clinton's health-care fiasco in the early 1990s has ensured this. As a result the Democratic advantage on this issue is politically meaningless. On the other hand, the Democratic position on gay marriage (which is politically unpopular) is more important right now.
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Date: 2005-02-08 02:31 pm (UTC)Secondly: The importance of different issues depends a lot on the agenda of the moment. Americans trust Democrats more on health care, for example, and Democratic positions on health care are closer to the mainstream. But nobody expects any significant health care initiatives in the foreseeable future; Clinton's health-care fiasco in the early 1990s has ensured this. As a result the Democratic advantage on this issue is politically meaningless. On the other hand, the Democratic position on gay marriage (which is politically unpopular) is more important right now.