Are Americans Morally Fickle?

The Republican Party has gained control of all three branches of American federal government largely because of a widespread sense that they represented a stronger moral force than the Democratic Party. Now that seems to be changing. A new poll asks, Does the Republican Party or the Democratic Party come closer to sharing your moral values? Nearly half (47%) now say it is the Democratic Party, while only about a third (38%) say the Republican Party.

• 69% say that members of congress consider themselves above the law
• 70% say that members of congress do not understand the needs of people
• twice as likely to say Republicans are more corrupt than Democrats

All of this seems to stem from the case of one Republican congressman who has been discovered to be a sexual predator. That might make Americans seem somewhat fickle about morality until you remember the tipping point principle. Major shifts in public opinion occur at a point where there has been a slow, quiet buildup of evidence in the minds of many people and then "the straw that breaks the camel's back" comes along. It is something that, taken by itself, would not necessarily change views, but along with the buildup it is decisive.

There has been evidence all along that the majority of Americans are not 100% comfortable with the peculiar mix of contemporary Conservative values. The Foley case is evidently the tipping point. Where does the consensus go from here? Stay tuned.

Comments

[Selin]

Monte, Can you give me a reference for this new poll? I'd like to blog it. Thanks.

[chris daley]

Tis the season when political hyperbole is hitting a fever pitch. I got a needed grounding by seeing the play, State of the Union that portrays all the key players in a political season prior to the 1948 election. Having a historical as well as an art perspective was welcomed relief. The powerful punch line of the play, no I won’t give it away (it’s the last line of the play) is prophetic in a sense. In
this political season, personal morality is the featured football to be kicked around but desperate pols, idea-deficient, trying to create leadership turnovers. History has shown that the American people has a reservoir of grace that does not cast broad condemnation on all for the sins of a few. They are capable to wade through the mud slinging, and trash talking to hear signal calls of great quarterbacks and vote them on to victory. The braying of the donkey and the pran pran of the elephant has stifled the wider hearing of a very reasoned dialog of Jack Danforth in his book, Faith and Politics. It’s like going an entire football season without the commentary of a John Madden. I pray for the day when a political center can again emerged, where the art of sensible comprise can flourish.

[Monte]

Selin, I saw it in the New York Times on October 9.

Chris, the Danforth book is top notch!! I just started reading it. I will probably post it on my recommended reading list if the rest of the book is as good as the first chapter-and-a-half.