Values Voters No Longer Voting Primarily Republican

The name Liberal Values was chosen for this blog following the 2004 election when there was considerable talk of the Republicans winning due to values voters. Although as an independent I might not have agreed with the Democrats on all issues, I was sufficiently repelled by the so-called values of the right wing to vote Democratic. I was a values voter–voting based upon liberal values. As is stated in the subheading of the blog, this includes values such which arose in the enlightenment including individual liberty, limitations on the power of government, a free market economy where all have the opportunity to benefit, and a respect for science and reason over superstition. This includes a respect for the rights of all to worship as they choose but insistence upon keeping religious views separate from public policy as the founding fathers understood in developing a secular government with a wall of separation of church and state.

I know that I am considering far more ideas in voting based upon values than was probably considered by those who answered this poll, but I still found it encouraging to see the change in views regarding values. After the 2004 election the conventional wisdom was that those who voted based upon values would vote Republican, An Ipsos/McClatchy poll released Tuesday not only found Barack Obama leading John McCain 50 percent to 42 percent, but found that on family values likely voters prefer Obama over McCain by 8 points, up from three points in September.

Obama also leads in many other areas. Despite the frequent attempts by the McCain campaign to distort Obama’s views on taxation, likely voters prefer Obama over McCain by eight percent. Voters also prefer Obama over McCain to handle jobs and the economy by 16 points and health care by 24 points. McCain’s lead on national security has fallen tremendously, and voters showed more concern for the issues where Obama is stronger.

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