David Broder reports the results of recent Gallup polling that reflects the highest percentage of self-identified conservatives since they began asking the question about personal ideology in 1992. Currently, 42% so identify, compared to 35% as moderates and 20% as liberals. We’ll see what this means, among other factors in the upcoming elections, but savvy observers know that this has consistently been a center-right country and, as Peter Berkowitz noted several months ago, the death of conservatism was greatly exaggerated after the 2008 elections. He also points out that, traditionally, progressives like to believe (and demonize them for it in the process) that the mission of conservatives is exclusively negative, “the party of NO”, and they see nothing in this but hard-hearted indifference to misfortune. In his view, this is a misreading. What conservatives do in times like these is ask the question that is avoided by progressive promises: at what expense?
