December 29, 2011 by David K. Sutton
Term ‘Progressive’ Viewed by 67% of Americans as Positive
According to a new Pew Research Center poll – Public’s Views of Political Terms – the political term ‘Progressive’ is viewed as positive by 67% of Americans. I didn’t know Flo from those Progressive Insurance ads had so much influence on our political landscape. Alright, I admit I don’t know what Flo’s political leanings are.
I’m somewhat surprised that ‘progressive’ ranked so high. I think I’m even more surprised that ‘liberal’ is viewed positively by half the country. Although I think that does support my belief that this country is not center-right even if it’s day-to-day politics makes it seem as such. I think our political system tilts towards gridlock which promotes the status quo which could be interpreted as center-right.
It’s unsurprising that the term ‘socialism’ is the least favored political term with 60% viewing it as negative and 31% as positive, although it could be seen as slightly interesting that support for that term is even as high as it is. I have no problem with the term socialism because I’m aware that it is not synonymous with communism. We have some good socialist programs in this country like Social Security and Medicare.
The least surprising in this Pew Research Center poll is that the term ‘conservative’ is viewed positive by a large majority of the nation at 62% positive and 30% negative.
Perhaps the best news to be extrapolated from this poll is that Glenn Beck’s attempt to demonize progressivism back in his Fox News days has failed miserably.
