Study: "Center-Right Nation" Narrative Spiked Immediately After Election Day

OurFuture.org:

When I wrote my first column about the "center-right nation" and subsequently launched the "Center-Right Nation Watch" series on this blog I predicted that the news media would actually increase its usage of this term after Obama won. I did a Lexis-Nexis search of the term, and was the first to note the trend and make the prediction that "if Obama wins, expect more frantic talk from the fringe about how electing a black man billed as an Islamic Karl Marx obviously means our country is more conservative than ever."

Feeling like I was out on a limb (and remember, this was almost 2 weeks before a group of major progressive pundits belatedly started writing about the trend), I asked a friend out here in Denver who works with a company called Trendrr to officially track whether my prediction was right - and you can see from the results above, it was - more so than I ever expected.

Read the whole story: OurFuture.org

Comments

[bygollymissmolly]

The Republicans are all about repetition. They think if you repeat a lie enough times sooner or later people will think it is the truth. Unfortunately for the Republicans, we are on to them and this no longer works. Besides, some lies are just too ludicrous to stick. This was one of them.

[feo]

Completely meaningless. What is the centrist position on abortion, the war(s), drilling for oil, the environment, bailouts etc etc? There is no such thing. Just more blather from people who get paid to blather.

[wendynyc]

These are some of their favorite "buzz words."

Just like they have been repeating - "Where is the CHANGE?" - question everytime O makes an appt from Clinton's Presidency. Where are we supposed to fnd experienced public servants if not from previous administrations? Didn't Bush and Reagan and Carter do it too?

There is a great article by Jamison Foster on www.mediamatters.org today.

[Sylmason]

Look Republican take an eight year nap. Did Bush leave you a bed to sleep in?

[StillIRise]

Great point wendy. In the last 28 years, we've had one Democratic President: Bill Clinton. If Obama is seeking to include in his cabinet Democrats and other capable personnel who have experience from previous administrations or previous roles in the government, and who have demonstrated a certain expertise or talent in a given area that is critical to the governance of our nation ... then where else is Obama going to look for some of these people if not from the Clinton administration? If he looked beyond the Clinton administration, he would be choosing from a pool of people older than John McCain!

EVERY new President has looked to people who have proven themselves in the past and who have strong resumes, to include in their cabinet. Of course, with Obama, it's the double standard stigma again. I guess if he brought strangers or unknowns into his cabinet, they be happy, but only because it would give them grounds to criticize him! As Democrats, and supporters of President-Elect Obama, it's incumbent upon us to stay alert to Republican talking points, both in the media and on this and other blogsites, and not be suckered in by them. Sometimes, even we get buzzed by their "buzz words," but Obama needs our committed support (though not blind support) as much as we need his leadership.

[canucklivinginUSA]

The right wing media is not the only one repeating that meme, so are the leftist from The Nation and even Mr. Sirota. Seriously, its coming from both side. Ideology is dead, people, realism is in

[magen]

This "center-right" nation BS is ENTIRELY an invention of the MSM.

All facts and evidence show that we're leaning left.

MSM needs to start reporting the facts.

Not what they would like the facts to be.

[fixedriddle]

I think this country is still center right because of the propositions passed around the country. Look at California, a liberal state that voted against gay marriage. What I don't understand is how people with conservative values vote for a liberal for president? This seems like an oxymoron in our society. It will take time, but I think that left leaning values will eventually take over in America.

[aliceinthewater]

A Democrat has one the popular vote in the last four out of five national elections.

[Aroura]

And the decriminalization of Marijuana in Mass! That's so obviously center right! (not).

[StillIRise]

The campaign to oppose Proposition 8 was ineffectual, in fact it was virtually non-existent, especially in comparison to those who effectively campaigned to support it. The fact that it passed does not suggest that our country is center-right ... it merely suggests that a great portion of our country was uninformed. With information and an organized effort to get that information out, Proposition 8 will inevitably fail the next time it is placed on a ballot.

Many Democrats and liberals have conservative values, but the difference between most of us and most Republicans is that we do not feel that we have the right to impose our conservative values on others. This explains how someone with conservative values can vote for a liberal president. As progressives or liberals, we voted for someone who respects and possibly shares our conservative values (i.e. family, faith, etc.), but who will not seek to legislate them.

[Palmz]

Data don't lie.

I blame OJ.

Had it not been for his spectacle of a trial we would not have had so many lazy MSMs who all get their talking points from AP, NYT and WSJ.

[jezuzhchryst]

I agree to blame it all on OJ, but for a different reason. He spent a cool 6 million dollars to butcher 2 people to death and get away with it. That works out to ..... about 3 million per victim. The lesson the conservatives seem to have internalized is that you can do just about anything in this country and if you put some cash and some BIG BOLD LIES out there you can get away with it. The trick is to not be afraid to LIE BIG. Most people are not at all equipped to separate lies from facts so the passion and persistence of lies will convince most of them that you are correct and the nerdy wordy guy stumbling to correct you is a looser.

[Cyano]

That's true. Have you noticed how reich-wing commentators always show total, cocksure confidence (despite all contrary evidence)? That's why they're so unreasonable, because to acknowledge your opponent may have a point is a sign of weakness. To create an alpha-male beat-on-his-chest display of unflinching belief (or at least be able to fake it) is the Number One characteristic of these spokesmen (and a few screechy women.)

[drowninginred]

This is so true! If you're gonna go, go big... but make sure you've got plenty of cash and talking heads to back you up!

[anachoret]

Thanks for keeping an eye on things like this, Mr. Sirota.
It reminds me of the whole "framing" subject. First state this as a fact, then go ahead and blather about how "we" can't move to the left, or how moving to the left is a huge mistake in reading the public.

[MargaretO]

I believe it. You could tell from their comments at various sites, they all received an email spouting on about how they overheard someone saying cancel their insurance after January because it was now going to be free and how their mortgage payments and such would be paid for them. Yada, yada, yada.

It's been quiet the past week, though.

[rw97]

Center-right is so 1980. Good job David Sirota. Backs up my anecdotal observations of the lazy MSM and the party of the Ozarks and the Appalachians.

[Myshkin57]

Why don't the progressive press start writing stories about the center-left country? It would force all those "center-right" blowhards to justify themselves, which they can't.

[BoomBap]

I'd like to see more of this. That ourfuture site has a few articles on the subject, but more MSM should catch on. It's not like it would be bad for ratings. November 4th is a sign we're thirsty for it.

[bygollymissmolly]

Well, if we could find a progressive press, maybe we could do that. Unfortunately the only progressive press left in this country is on the internet. The MSM is all a wholly owned subsidiary of the RNC and has been for years now.

[Sioen]

There's a bunch of relatively progressive print outlets, actually. The Nation, Mother Jones, New Republic, The Progressive, etc. And then there is the big echo chamber on the Web.

Between the two, we ought to be able to get a good meme going about what a huge crock this is. And then eventually it will get covered (or at least noticed) by individual MSM reporters, many of whom are not owned by the RNC and can actually get progressive ideas into print in individual instances.

This cycle happened constantly throughout the election, and I'm counting on it to continue. We can all help by carefully choosing what media we consume.

Don't support the dinosaur media, and they will eventually die. Support the living, decentralized journalism, and it will thrive.

[jeniferdaniels]

so then HuffPosters and Kossacks...time to get on your duty...type center-left nation as many times as you can in every blog post available...tweet it too!

[totalliberal]

They (MSM) wish. I don't understand why though. Business's always seems to do better under progressive governments.

[janinwb]

I've only heard one interviewer dispute this and it was Jon Stewart to Bill O'Rielly. He immediately changed the subject. Others should try it.

[naviline]

That interview was fantastic. Highly recommended to everyone.

[nellie]

The right wing believes if they say something often enough and loud enough, it becomes true.

[Chillinout]

Yep. They are trying hard to try to keep their relevance.

[MajorKong]

Funny, it's almost as if they were all getting the same talking points at the same time. Hmmmmm.......

[darthdarcy]

It's the secret of the Big Lie, keep repeating it over and over to make it seem true...!

Hardball loves this lie...