Is this true?

[lwcon]

A distant relative of mine -- a feisty, retired union rep -- once told me a truism she'd heard. She didn't know where it originated (do any of y'all know?), but it certainly made me think:

People will vote for someone more conservative than they are, but not for someone more liberal than they are.

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[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I don't know that that is the case for me

I tend to shy away from conservatives and will tend to vote liberal, including the more liberal of primary candidates.

[electropop]

2. It's certainly not true of me.

Maybe for right-wingers - they seem to be in a race to the bottom.

I would definitely vote for a candidate more liberal than me - if such a thing existed. ;-)

[lwcon]

4. I suppose we DUers may be the outliers...

... but it does seem to be true for most people.

Americans consistently poll more progressive on things like health care and gay rights than their presidential votes would suggest.

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[electropop]

6. Or the polls are more accurate than the elections.

Seems to have been the case at least twice now.

[lwcon]

8. 'Tis a fair point

[uppityperson]

3. Not a truism for me.

[Sammy Pepys]

5. Not really true for me...but...

...I don't think it's that far-fetched.

[Totally Committed]

7. Not for me, it isn't...

and it never will be again. I've had conservatism, compassionate or otherwise, *up to here*.

Time to let people who actually have the ability to think and feel beyond enriching their own pocketbooks, or some corporate bottom line, do the governing.

TC

[lwcon]

9. Do you think the rest of the country is with you?

Reports seen here in the past few days of shrewd new GOP positioning that marginalizes Bush and touts the rest of them as "Reagan Conservatives" sounds like the kind of smarmy thing that might work.

Like Blues Traveler says, "perhaps I've grown a little cynical."

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[Totally Committed]

11. I'm not sure...

Republicans are the worst kind of slime... the kind that lives under rocks until it mutates and then crawls out when people have forgotten the sting of their last bite. They could rebound, but I'm not sure.

I do, however, know that for me, my post was my own truth as I see and feel it today.

TC

[CBHagman]

10. I think you need to move beyond that truism.

I'm always a little disturbed by pronouncements of that sort, things like "People grow more conservative as they grow older," etc.

It appears to be true that in SOME CIRCLES, the terms "liberal" and "conservative" have been defined in very narrow terms, with the one demonized and the other lauded. This, however, does not necessarily apply across the board.

I think that the American media is overly fond of statistics and hammers us with them all the time, making grand pronouncements. Reporters for The Washington Post repeatedly described Bush as "a popular wartime president" and then were left floundering when the polls weren't coming back with favorable news.

What appears to matter is this:

*How people understand terms such as liberal, conservative, and moderate.

*What affects their views of the candidates.

*What motivates them to vote for a particular candidate.

Paul Begala and James Carville, for example, cited the example of Paul Wellstone supporters who didn't agree with him on all the issues but loved the fact that he was frank about what he believed.

I've run into people who swear by the motto "Vote for the devil you know." They'd cast their ballot year after year for a congressman they described as "do-nothing" and "dumb," but only because they were afraid of change.

You see that I have only anecdotal evidence -- e.g., I'm pro-choice but would vote for Bob Casey if I lived in Pennsylvania; my Brother the Republican is a Wes Clark fan; my friend's husband, also in the GOP, when asked which politicians he admired, came up with Tip O'Neill and Bill Bradley and, with some additional thought, John McCain.

In short, there are all sorts of unquantifiable factors here. The main thing is not the label but how people are responding.

[lwcon]

12. I've seen some truth to it in MA...

...where the ultimate blue state has voted in a string of Republican governors.

I do think it's important to study the whys and wherefores of people voting against their own interests and better natures, whether or not this particular "truism" proves true.

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[Debs]

13. I dont know

Any politicians more liberal than I am but if I did I think I would vote for them

[Awsi Dooger]

14. It might need a qualifier

Like "significantly more liberal than they are."