Is America moving to the Left or Right?

[A18]

Looking at the exit poll data Nym90 posted, that's demonstrably false.

Look at 1980. Reagan won that election by 10 points. Among 18-21 year olds, he lost by a point, and among 22-29 year olds, it was tied.

[Gabu]

Because it's a total joke. The majority of adults are not going to support destroying an institution that has existed for thousands of years.

In 1950, the thought of homosexuals getting married was an unheard of thing.

In 2004, two countries (Belgium and the Netherlands) have fully legalized same-sex marriage and a third (Canada) has received the green light to proceed with legislation to that end.

It's wholly impossible to tell where things will be in 50 years.

[Trilobyte]

Socially, it's moving to the left. Though at an uneven pace.

Economically, it's to the right. Government used to be seen as the solution. By now, because of Reagan, it's seen as the problem. It'd be a long time before the public gets over that perception.

[Lunar]

By now, because of Reagan, it's seen as the problem.

Carter and Nixon didn't help.  Iran-Contra didn't help either, heh.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Because it's a total joke. The majority of adults are not going to support destroying an institution that has existed for thousands of years.

Again, I'm sure in the 1960s you would have expected the country to be communist in 20 years.

How can gay marriage threaten straight marriage?
Divorce rates are 50%. I think straight marriage threatens straight marriage.

[phk]

In the long run, it all moves to the left.

Running on a pro-slavery message wouldn't work today, just as running on an anti-gay message won't work in 2060.

Democrats had a pro-slavery message.  Lincoln was a Republican.

What relevance does that have to my post?

[A18]

That the natural order of things is for Republicans to win and Democrats to lose.

[12th Doctor]

America has stabalized basically where I would like it to be.  I could tollerate things being a little further right, but no further left.

Hmmmm... I guess that is not an entirely accurate statement.  On somethings, i would certainly like America to be further Left, but for the majority of things, we are just about right, or only a tad Left of my ideal.

[phk]

That the natural order of things is for Republicans to win and Democrats to lose.

uh 1996?

[opebo]

America is moving rapidly 'right' in the fascistic sense, though not at all in the libertarian sense.  Depends upon which sort of political scale you are using.

Besides, the real trend is toward theocracy, which is not necessarily left or right economically.  It is just utterly repressive to individual liberty.

[Gustaf]

The Hippie culture was a lot less mainstream than was thought at the time though. It was more a question of shouting the loudest.

[Platypus]

America is moving to the left, but less quickly then the rest of the world.

So, by the western average, which keeps moving left, at a greater rate then the US, it's moving right.

Hard to determine what is more important-the comparison with other countries or the actual issue-by-issue placement of america now compared to 10 years ago.

[Sibboleth]

Question is too broad. It's all about generations kids.

[danwxman]

No. Younger people have voted Democratic forever, older people have voted Republican forever.

Incorrect. "Old" people vote Democrat. They are one of the largest Democratic voting blocs.

[Sibboleth]

No. Younger people have voted Democratic forever, older people have voted Republican forever.

Incorrect. "Old" people vote Democrat. They are one of the largest Democratic voting blocs.

Isn't it the older Old voters that usually vote Democrat and the younger Old voters who vote Republican?

[Vasall des Midas]

Thread question: No.
Poll question: Left/Depends.

[Vasall des Midas]

IIRC from geography lessons, North America is moving neither Right nor Left but is actually contracting.

[Sibboleth]

IIRC from geography lessons, North America is moving neither Right nor Left but is actually contracting.

It's (well the American plate) is moving west at a rate of a few centimetres a year

[Vasall des Midas]

IIRC from geography lessons, North America is moving neither Right nor Left but is actually contracting.

It's (well the American plate) is moving west at a rate of a few centimetres a year

...in the North Atlantic, yes. But isn't it also moving away from the Pacific plate at the same time, creating the San Andreas Fault?

[Sibboleth]

IIRC from geography lessons, North America is moving neither Right nor Left but is actually contracting.

It's (well the American plate) is moving west at a rate of a few centimetres a year

...in the North Atlantic, yes. But isn't it also moving away from the Pacific plate at the same time, creating the San Andreas Fault?

The boundary between the Pacific and North American plates is (mostly) a conservative plate boundary (with the exception of the BC/Washington coast which has a destructive plate boundary, which is why you get the Cascades)... it moves north/south (I forget which plate moves south and which moves north) and you get earthquakes when the plates get stuck (if it was a destructive boundary there'd be a load of active volcano's in California), this contrasts with the boundary between the South American plate and the Pacific and Nazca plates (destructive boundaries again).

[Vasall des Midas]

So America is moving to the left and downwards, then.

[Sibboleth]

So America is moving to the left and downwards, then.

North America is moving West and either south or north (I forget which. Mind you no one knows where the North American plate's westernmost bit is. Either Central Alaska or Siberia IIRC)

[Vasall des Midas]

So America is moving to the left and downwards, then.

North America is moving West and either south or north (I forget which. Mind you no one knows where the North American plate's westernmost bit is. Either Central Alaska or Siberia IIRC)

It is South. It came back to me reading your post how parts of Coastal California are going to end up next to B.C. somewhere in the distant future.

[Sibboleth]

It is South. It came back to me reading your post how parts of Coastal California are going to end up next to B.C. somewhere in the distant future.

O/c in geological terms it's not distant ;-)

[PBrunsel]

I really don't care what way we are going, I'm an historian.

Just the second I hear "Siege Heil" or "Worker's of the Wolrd Unite" coming from Washington, D.C., than I know we are moving to the extremes.