Tom Ferguson and the Myth of the Median Voter

[William S. Lear]

On Wed, September 23, 1998 at 21:57:37 (-0700) Brad De Long writes:
>Tom is very smart and very good...
>
>But there are a lot of issues about which the median investor does not
>care--or does not care much. Bob Rubin's Wall Street friends would (most of
>them) not be displeased with a president who led a serious (but not too
>expensive) war on poverty, as long as he was "solid" on core economic
>issues.
>
>Clinton's abandonment of AFDC for TANF was not dictated by the
>Hollywood-Wall Street-High Tech crowd who provide much of the Democratic
>Party's non-union funding, but was--in Moynihan's phrase--pure boob bait...

Well, sure, and none of this is inconsistent with Ferguson's approach
(so the "But there are a lot of issues..." part is unnecessary).
Ferguson makes it clear that it is investor sovereignty that is
important, and obviously the sovereign chooses what to focus upon.

I was simply objecting to the use of "voters" turning right and then
dragging along the hapless Democrats --- a common misconception that I
try to point out when I see it.

Bill