>> > polls on policy, there is a clear basis for a left-wing
>>> populist political movement and party in the United States.
>>
>>
>>Show me.
>
>Alright, here's a bit from Ivins' latest:
>
>"The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in
>Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65
>percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and
>are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent)
>of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority
>of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts,
>or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66
>percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic
>spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.
>
>"The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes"
>to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil
>companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits
>tax."
Problem is you could cite polls showing the opposite in most cases - which isn't a fault of polling so much as a deep confusion in the American mind. A lot of the folks who took the correct side of the poll questions almost certainly voted for Bush, and candidates who take these positions regularly get crushed. Crushed - not losing honorably, with a respectable minority of the vote, but shares in the single digits, e.g. Dennis Kucinich.
Doug