Poll: Bias 'alive and well' in press

[DeeJayH]

Poll: Bias 'alive and well' in press - Nation/Politics - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Sentiment is strong: 83 percent of likely voters think bias is "alive and well." Of that number, 64 percent said the press leans left, while slightly more than a quarter -- 28 percent -- said there was a conservative bias.
Naturally, there's a partisan divide, and a pronounced one. Among Republican respondents, 97 percent said the press was liberal. Two-thirds of political independents agreed with them, with less than a quarter of the independents -- 23 percent -- saying there was a conservative bias.
Democratic respondents revealed a spectrum of perceptions.
"Democrats, while much more likely to perceive a conservative bias than any other group, were not nearly as sure the media was against them as were the Republicans," the survey said. "While Republicans were unified in their perception of left-wing media, just two-thirds of Democrats were certain the media skewed right -- and 17 percent said the bias favored the left."

no surprise here

 

[duretti]

Basically: If we define the left as an extreme right wing (by international standards or those of the US population as exhibited by polls) political party such as the US democrats, then we can demonstrate a left wing bias in the media. Brilliant.

 

[DeeJayH]

Basically: If we define the left as an extreme right wing (by international standards or those of the US population as exhibited by polls) political party such as the US democrats, then we can demonstrate a left wing bias in the media. Brilliant.

the US dems are left and extreme right?
maybe you should clarify this brilliant post

 

[duretti]

^ They are extreme right, not left - at least by the standards of political parties in most of the west or the US population as exhibited by polls.

 

[DeeJayH]

^ They are extreme right, not left - at least by the standards of political parties in most of the west or the US population as exhibited by polls.

guess you are from another country and new to US politics
here in the states
Republicans/Conservatives are Right wing
Democrats/Liberals are Left wing

enjoy the DebatePolitics.com with this additional knowledge

 

[duretti]

Sigh...

I am from another country, but I am by no means new to american politics. I am quite aware that the democrats are (ever so slightly) to the left of the republicans. This does not change the fact that they are on the extreme right by international standards, when compared to the US population (as expressed by polls) or any objective standard of politics.

See, the operative word is "liberal" - liberalism being the ideology of capitalism and as such a great enemy of the left.

 

[DeeJayH]

Sigh...

I am from another country, but I am by no means new to american politics. I am quite aware that the democrats are (ever so slightly) to the left of the republicans. This does not change the fact that they are on the extreme right by international standards, when compared to the US population (as expressed by polls) or any objective standard of politics.

See, the operative word is "liberal" - liberalism being the ideology of capitalism and as such a great enemy of the left.

interesting point of view
but I do believe you are wrong about the 'compared to the US population' part

 

[Renald]

I have only been in the country a short time, and I can tell you that the difference between right, and left, is hardly just a "slight difference"

 

[DeeJayH]

I have only been in the country a short time, and I can tell you that the difference between right, and left, is hardly just a "slight difference"

hmmm

pro-life vs pro-choice
cradle to grave entitlements vs personal responsibility and charity
big government vs limited govt
weak military vs strong military
high taxes vs low taxes
.........

if these are the slight differences here, what are teh more extreme examples of them

 

[Inuyasha]

I understand what Duretti is saying and what DeeJay is saying. I have lived extensively under both systems and find that our misunderstanding come from semantics more than political ideology. Just the terms "liberal" and "conservative" cause a problem because in Europe, for example, the two words don't mean the same as they mean in the US. Before we can really talk we need to define our terms or misunderstanding will just continue.

Compared to most other countries the US has been a conservative country since the Spanish American war. Europe on the other hand has experimented "liberally" with many forms of government from so-called left wing "Euro Socialism to extreme right wing forms like Fascism. I believe it is a historical moment and no more. When a country needs to change it does or it ceases to be a nation or it becomes dominated by other nations.

 

[duretti]

The issues on which the democrats and republicans are so fiercely divided are red herrings with very little to do with the left-right divide (abortion, gay marriage, gun control etc)

On the issues of foreign and economic policy which separate left from right, america is essentially a one party state. The democrats time and again preside over very little government spending (with the exception of the military budget) just like the republicans. Foreign policy is distinguishable only by the associated rhetoric. Compared to the rest of the developed world, or the wishes of the US population as expressed in polls, the democrats are for extreemely little welfare and massive military spending.

More extreme examples?

How about not invading iraq (the invasion considered a mistake by polled majorities)? Kerry said he would have invaded "whether sadam had WMD or not".

How about universal healthcare (supported by polled majorities in the USA, and supported by the *conservatives* throughout europe)? According to the democrats, this is "politically impossible". Ditto to most other forms of welfare seen in the rest of the developed world.

How about a minimum wage (or any other form of worker protection) comparable to those seen in europe? The democrats have never raised it to remotely comparable levels.

How about not doing 50% of the worlds military spending (again supported in polls), and spending a % of the GDP on education comparable to other developed nations?

--- ad nauseam




Of course, these are all just examples of welfare liberalism, not strictly anything leftwing. For the democrats to become leftists, they are going to have to start opposing private ownership of the means of production.

 

[Inuyasha]

Here is a good simple primer on American politics from the centrists point of view. Click the linl at the bottom of the page for more views on centrists.

Centrism and Political Moderates



Snippet:
So the Democrats aren't really left-wing?
Because the Republican Party has moved so far to the right, the Democrats seem left-wing, but in fact many Democrats are traditional centrists. The kind of Marxist leftists we have today proclaim themselves anarchists. They desire revolution. The mainstream television news media, however, largely ignore this movement and focus instead of the drama of Democrats versus Republicans--especially when it comes to issues central to the so-called "culture war" (gay rights, abortion, gun control, etc.) being waged in the United States. These "wars" have polarized the two parties like never before. In such a vitriolic environment, political centrism is more than just a position: it is the tie that binds.

 

[DeeJayH]

where to start

The issues on which the democrats and republicans are so fiercely divided are red herrings with very little to do with the left-right divide (abortion, gay marriage, gun control etc)
an opinion you are entitled to
On the issues of foreign and economic policy which separate left from right, america is essentially a one party state. The democrats time and again preside over very little government spending (with the exception of the military budget) just like the republicans. Foreign policy is distinguishable only by the associated rhetoric. Compared to the rest of the developed world, or the wishes of the US population as expressed in polls, the democrats are for extreemely little welfare and massive military spending.
actually its Republicans that are for extremely little welfare and massive military spending
the Dems are the ones on the path to pushing cradle to grave entitlements
More extreme examples?
some True examples would help
How about not invading iraq (the invasion considered a mistake by polled majorities)? Kerry said he would have invaded "whether sadam had WMD or not".
Kerry is a political hack
How about universal healthcare (supported by polled majorities in the USA, and supported by the *conservatives* throughout europe)? According to the democrats, this is "politically impossible". Ditto to most other forms of welfare seen in the rest of the developed world.
worst idea i have ever heard of, and totally oppose it
the system needs reform, but i dont want my health care taken care of by the govt
How about a minimum wage (or any other form of worker protection) comparable to those seen in europe? The democrats have never raised it to remotely comparable levels.
and yet we do not have the unemployment of most European countires
and we have a strong economy
How about not doing 50% of the worlds military spending (again supported in polls), and spending a % of the GDP on education comparable to other developed nations?
i disagree with cutting the military budget
but i do agree with spending more on education
but i want the money spent on finding out what is broken and how to fix it first
--- ad nauseam




Of course, these are all just examples of welfare liberalism, not strictly anything leftwing. For the democrats to become leftists, they are going to have to start opposing private ownership of the means of production.

cant say your post has justified your claim
sorry