Liberal Storm Rising

After an analysis of what has been going on in American politics, it is clearly easy to see that the American electorate is more liberal and are rejecting more and more of the conservative's policies.

Liberalism appears to be winning and if I was the Rush Limbaughs, Dick Cheneys and the Sarah Palins of conservatism, I would just get out of the way and do it quickly. Otherwise, a major train wreck is coming and it would not look pretty for any conservative like them that tried to stay in its way.

There are many reasons as to why this shift is taking place. Many argue it is the former president George W. Bush and his policies (especially Iraq). Many argue it is the failing economy. Many argue it is the demographics--as in more younger voters and Hispanic voters, which tend to be more liberal. Many argue what we are seeing with the gay marriage debate where more and more states are bringing up the issue. Many argue it is the changing electoral map. Some even argue it is the movement to legalize pot in this country. After all, Denver, Co. has a form of that and so does Boulder.

How about I tell you that all of those would be correct to a major extent? That's because it is.

When it comes to Bush and his Iraq policies, that is exactly what helped fuel the Democratic tidal wave that took place in November of 2006 that swept the Democrats back into power, which had allowed right wing policies in Congress shift to center policies.

The shift to the left continued in 2008 when Democrats won the White House, won more in the House and eventually got the filibuster proof majority in the Senate, with the help of Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania changing from Republican to Democrat. That has made policies more in line with the center left crowd and not even the center crowd.

Most people want this too, according to most public opinion polls. Opinions of people on social issues is changing in favor of liberals. Opinions of people on health care are changing in favor of liberals. Face it, liberals are more in line with the electorate now than conservatives are.

A lot of that is over the failing economy. After all, many people point to former Senator Phil Gramm and his deregulation of the banks, point to Bush and his out of touch policies, as well as the out of touch faith based market policies conservatives are holding onto. I'd go as far as to say conservatism is really socialism for the rich. That is something you would never hear the right wing talk about.

But those anti-middle class policies conservatives and right wingers have supported have led to liberals taking control, especially when you add in the demographics and the electoral map. Face it, the demographics are changing. We have more Hispanic voters and young voters.

Those two groups alone allowed Obama to win over McCain in a landslide. With the Hispanic vote, Obama was able to win in places like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. The youth vote helped him in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina (not to mention a good touch of the African American vote in North Carolina).

Most of those new voters belonged to the middle class. By the way, speaking of the middle class, especially the blue collar middle class, they have gone more liberal too, as you hear more liberals criticizing free trade deals, such as NAFTA and Chinese trade in states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, where free trade has cost them jobs. Ever since, it has been a train wreck for conservatism in those rust belt states.

Then there are even lesser issues on most voters minds, such as gay marriage. Many states are starting to get it. While gay rights activists have suffered a set back in California for the time being, they have strode forward in New England and even Iowa where gay marriage is allowed. More and more people are wanting to see gay marriage legalized and believe the government should not be keeping people away from true love.

Therefore, with all of those issues, get ready because conservatism is dead the way it is. I am not saying the movement itself is dead. However, it is going to have to change.

I think Joe Scarborough has it right when he says every morning on his radio show and on Morning Joe on MSNBC that the Republicans have to become fiscally conservative and social libertarian. That seems to be where the American electorate is fitting mostly. I'd differ with the economic policy, but social libertarian should be a big block of their party. Not to mention, some fiscal policies with the budget could be a good issue for them.

However, conservatism like it is will not work for them. It is not a smart strategy because America is getting more liberal. Sure, you might have some isolated conservatives do good out there in the country. But mostly, this country is more liberal than it was five years ago.

That is something that Republicans are just going to have to realize. The age of Ward Clever and Bing Crosby are over.