Have the democrats shifted left?

[hopper]

Yep. Check out education spending and the number of teachers in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2008.


Each decade more and more and more of the private sector is bitten off and gifted to the unions to gift back to the Democratic party, because the Democratic party politicos spew nonsense about how we need student:teacher ratios to decline significantly from where they were 10 years prior.

Are you in fact aware that political issues other than this one and whatever populist claptrap du jour may catch your attention exist at all?

Well, the Democrats have also succeeded in growing government health care spending at far faster rates than inflation, population growth, GDP growth, or whatever metric you choose.

Here in New Jersey the Democrats succeeded in doubling state government spending and state debt between 1999 and 2008. They didn't just go left; they fell off the map.


Indeed, here is one of my favorite charts. It is truly amazing how much compensation the teachers unions managed to acquire in a short 17 years!

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_188.asp?referrer=list

No the Republicans in NJ did have the Governors Mansion from 1999-2001 (well 1994-2001) before the Dems took it over from 2002-2009. The Dem Legislature has worked well with Christie  though since he took over as Governor in 2010.

[hopper]

The Dems are to far to the left on economic issues for the electorate as a whole I think as ObamaCare and Stimulus were controversal. They should just move to the center on economic issues and learn that the government can't do everything. I believe if they suffer another "schollacking" as they did in 2010 this decade the party's platform on economic issue's will be re-evaluated. I do like their platform on social issues though and it is where it needs to be as most moderates agree with their platform on social issues.

[hopper]

Yep. Check out education spending and the number of teachers in 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2008.


Each decade more and more and more of the private sector is bitten off and gifted to the unions to gift back to the Democratic party, because the Democratic party politicos spew nonsense about how we need student:teacher ratios to decline significantly from where they were 10 years prior.

Are you in fact aware that political issues other than this one and whatever populist claptrap du jour may catch your attention exist at all?

Well, the Democrats have also succeeded in growing government health care spending at far faster rates than inflation, population growth, GDP growth, or whatever metric you choose.

Here in New Jersey the Democrats succeeded in doubling state government spending and state debt between 1999 and 2008. They didn't just go left; they fell off the map.


Indeed, here is one of my favorite charts. It is truly amazing how much compensation the teachers unions managed to acquire in a short 17 years!

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_188.asp?referrer=list

No the Republicans in NJ did have the Governors Mansion from 1999-2001 (well 1994-2001) before the Dems took it over from 2002-2009. The Dem Legislature has worked well with Christie  though since he took over as Governor in 2010.

Well, it is certainly true that Christie Whitman is a vile and horrid ex governor, yes. But the fastest rate of government spending growth occurred under McGreevey.

I don't know about vile and horrid. She did have a good first term but her second term wasn't as good as her first. She did make a couple mistakes like the tax cut and going into the pension fund to balance the budget in 1997 I think? The rate of spending that went on under McGreevey I thought continued under Corzine?

[hopper]

According to Gallup, 29% of Democrats were Liberals in 2000, and 39% in 2011.

Also according to Gallup, 21% of Independents were Liberal in 2000, and 20% in 2011.

Republicans were 6% Liberals in 2000, and 4% in 2001.

So, yes, the Democrats have drifted to the left.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/152021/conservatives-remain-largest-ideological-group.aspx

Does it occur to you that self-identification based upon the vague and nonsensical terms used in American politics and media might not be the best metric for this, or that ten years might not be the timeframe most germane to the initial question?

I posted data from a respected pollster with a link.

You posted nothing to support your views.

Hmm.

CARL. even when given help, you often refuse to consider viewpoints that don't meet your preconceived ideas.  The data you cited from that poll support several equally logical possibilities.

1. The possibility you gave, that the Democrats have shifted left and the Republicans have shifted right, while the center has remained relatively unchanged.

2.  The possibility that Nathan gave, that the center has shifted to the right and the Republicans have shifted even further to the right.  (This could be further broken down into the Democrats have shifted right, but not as much as the center, the Dems have stayed the same, or the Dems have shifted to the left.)

3. The center has shifted to the left, and Democrats have shifted even further to the left.  (This could be further broken down into the Republicans have shifted left, but not as much as the center, the Reps have stayed the same, or the Reps have shifted to the right.)

The reason why all of those possibility are valid under the data Gallup provides is that Gallup provides no information on how what is considered liberal and conservative in 2001 compares to what is considered liberal and conservative in 2011.

The only certain thing we can ascertain from the Gallup data is that the two parties are more polarized in 2011 than in 2001.

I'll take most of Number 1 and maybe a quarter of Number 3. Moderates in the center agree with the Dems on social issues but nessecarily on economic ones.