COMMENTARY | Rep. Michele Bachmann told a group of conservatives and reporters at the Family Research Council this past week that a choice between a "frugal socialist" (a direct implication of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and the state-mandated health care program) and an "uncontrolled socialist" (a slap at President Obama) for voters on Election Day was no choice at all and a danger to future freedom. But what Bachmann -- and many of her no-taxes-entitlement-killing colleagues -- do not seem to understand is that, like it or not, most Americans are "frugal socialists."
America is, for the most part, a conservative nation. According to a Gallup Poll released in August, conservatives outnumber liberals 41 percent to 21 percent (36 percent are moderates). Among independent voters, the conservatives outnumber the liberals, 35 percent to 20 percent. Even inside the Democratic Party, 18 percent said they were conservative.
One of conservativism's chief tenets is adherence to frugality (and the only nod Bachmann seems to be willing to give Romney and those of like mind). In fact, Americans have little problem with frugality when it comes to government. A July CNN poll noted that 74 percent supported a balanced budget amendment. They also have no problem with social program reform. Or spending cuts. They just do not want their entitlements -- the so-called social "safety nets" -- curtailed.
A Pew Research Center survey released in July during the height of the debt ceiling gridlock in Congress revealed that a slight majority of respondents believed that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid needed "major changes" or needed to be "completely rebuilt." However, at the same time, those same respondents overwhelmingly stated that the three programs were "good for the country," with Medicare receiving an 88 percent approval rating.
The same survey noted that 58 percent of Americans do not believe lower income recipients of Medicaid should have their benefits eliminated and 60 percent thought Social Security and Medicare benefits should remain untouched.
This would indicate that most Americans are socialists -- to an extent. But the word itself has become a pejorative in the U. S. and attaching it to anything connotes something less than what could be, something to be avoided. Still...
Michele Bachmann, in her attempt to resurrect her campaign, basically called Mitt Romney -- and those like him -- a man of the ("frugal socialist") people. Luckily for her, most conservatives who listen to her never got past the "socialist" label.
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