27%

In today's Los Angeles Times story commenting on the recent Bush-Sharon agreement, Bush Move on Mideast May Sway Jewish Vote, we read the following: (emphasis added)

[A] survey — conducted among 1,000 people who identified themselves as Jews — also found that 40% described themselves as at least somewhat liberal, 33% as moderate and 27% as at least somewhat conservative. That compares with roughly 27% of adults nationwide who described themselves as liberal and 41% as conservative in a Los Angeles Times poll last month.

Twenty-seven percent of Americans are liberal. And (presumably) 32% are moderate (100 - 27 - 41). So how come the word 'liberal' is still shunned by most politicians? There are a lot of people who agree with the label, and we suspect that self-described moderates aren't horrified by the term. For some reason, the vocabulary of the right-wing predominates in our discourse. That's a shame.

posted by Quiddity at 4/17/2004 07:45:00 AM