This article presents graphically the fundamental misunderstanding about our politics. It shows generic Democrats as solidly to the left of the median political center, with the generic Republicans a comparable degree to the right. This is flat out wrong. The Democratic Party of today, as exemplified by the policies of the Biden administration, espouse and practice policies on key issues that have the support of solid majorities of voters. Yes, it has the odd solidly left-of-center Congress members, but they do NOT exercise any real control of the Party. Conversely, today's Republican Party, both its officeholders and its primary voters, exercise total dominance of the GOP. Kevin McCarthy must bow to the demands of Marjorie Taylor Greene. Whereas Hakeem Jeffries either persuades his most liberal members to vote with the majority of his party OR they become part of a tiny minority on the losing end of a vote. Still more important, the views of the most progressive Democratic officeholders on such issues as abortion, the Green New Deal or Medicare for All have, by and large, majority support among the general voting public, not just Democrats. The views of the dominant far-right Republicans on those issues are rejected by solid majorities of American voters, not just self-declared Democrats. It is seriously misguided to present BOTH parties as equally removed from the supposed political median, as this article does.
First, if you read the early paragraphs, I admited it was a pretty simplistic representation. I admit at the very beginning "all things being equal..." and then even say "but things ARENT equal." Each chart is different and in diferent elections, different candidates are not "Equally removed" from the median as you indicate.
Second, the charts show that the center shifts over time. It ebbs and flows with the politics of at the moment.
Third, your arguments about where things are currently are ALL contained in the last couple charts-- Biden is clearly towards the center and the Republican standard bearer is far to the right. Unfortunately for your arguments 1) based on the last several elections, the parties are closer to 50% than you think-- Biden barely got over 300 EVs and Trump only lost by 7 million votes out of 150+ cast (and even narrower if you consider the margins in enough swing states that could have shifted to give him another electoral vote victory). Congress is a slim GOP majority, indicating a pretty closely divided American electorate, something you seem to ignore and instead focus on personalities, particularly of people not even running for President or considered in this article. 2) There are NOT a whole lot of swing voters; hence the relatively narrow purple strip in the middle.
Lastly, as you indicate on various issues, Biden does espouse solid majorities ON THOSE ISSUES. As a nation we do not vote one issue at a time. We vote for candidates, mostly as dichotomous choices, when the time comes in November. As of current, both Biden and Trump have approval ratings BELOW 40. This is hardly as broadbased or as expansive as you indicate in your reply. The facts are that it is a very polarized country, and a very narrow battleground when it comes to states that are close enough to swing the election one way or another.
This article presents graphically the fundamental misunderstanding about our politics. It shows generic Democrats as solidly to the left of the median political center, with the generic Republicans a comparable degree to the right. This is flat out wrong. The Democratic Party of today, as exemplified by the policies of the Biden administration, espouse and practice policies on key issues that have the support of solid majorities of voters. Yes, it has the odd solidly left-of-center Congress members, but they do NOT exercise any real control of the Party. Conversely, today's Republican Party, both its officeholders and its primary voters, exercise total dominance of the GOP. Kevin McCarthy must bow to the demands of Marjorie Taylor Greene. Whereas Hakeem Jeffries either persuades his most liberal members to vote with the majority of his party OR they become part of a tiny minority on the losing end of a vote. Still more important, the views of the most progressive Democratic officeholders on such issues as abortion, the Green New Deal or Medicare for All have, by and large, majority support among the general voting public, not just Democrats. The views of the dominant far-right Republicans on those issues are rejected by solid majorities of American voters, not just self-declared Democrats. It is seriously misguided to present BOTH parties as equally removed from the supposed political median, as this article does.
First, if you read the early paragraphs, I admited it was a pretty simplistic representation. I admit at the very beginning "all things being equal..." and then even say "but things ARENT equal." Each chart is different and in diferent elections, different candidates are not "Equally removed" from the median as you indicate.
Second, the charts show that the center shifts over time. It ebbs and flows with the politics of at the moment.
Third, your arguments about where things are currently are ALL contained in the last couple charts-- Biden is clearly towards the center and the Republican standard bearer is far to the right. Unfortunately for your arguments 1) based on the last several elections, the parties are closer to 50% than you think-- Biden barely got over 300 EVs and Trump only lost by 7 million votes out of 150+ cast (and even narrower if you consider the margins in enough swing states that could have shifted to give him another electoral vote victory). Congress is a slim GOP majority, indicating a pretty closely divided American electorate, something you seem to ignore and instead focus on personalities, particularly of people not even running for President or considered in this article. 2) There are NOT a whole lot of swing voters; hence the relatively narrow purple strip in the middle.
Lastly, as you indicate on various issues, Biden does espouse solid majorities ON THOSE ISSUES. As a nation we do not vote one issue at a time. We vote for candidates, mostly as dichotomous choices, when the time comes in November. As of current, both Biden and Trump have approval ratings BELOW 40. This is hardly as broadbased or as expansive as you indicate in your reply. The facts are that it is a very polarized country, and a very narrow battleground when it comes to states that are close enough to swing the election one way or another.