Is this really the liberal American Dream?

A Pioneer Press reprint of a Washington Post article by David Balz analyzes the findings of the latest effort by the Pew Research Center for people and the press that maps the changes in the shape of American politics.

The study divides the electorate into nine groups along liberal/conservative, Democrat/Republican lines. It finds that traditional characteristics of wealth and education level associated with the two parties are no longer the predictors of party affiliation they once were. Religious and cultural attitudes are the primary distinguishing characteristics. Duh!

Nonetheless, despite this less than surprising conclusion, there is one set of comparisons that leaps out of this study. From the article --

The most striking differences between lower-income Republicans and lower-income Democrats come in their perceptions of the power of the individual. Both Pro-Government Conservatives and Disadvantaged Democrats include a substantial number of people who consider themselves to be struggling financially. Overwhelming majorities in both groups say they often cannot make ends meet.

But where they part company is in their overall sense of optimism, with the Republican group expressing much greater faith in personal empowerment. Three-fourths of the Pro-Government Conservatives agreed that people can get ahead by working hard, and four-fifths agreed that everyone has the power to succeed. Just 14 percent of Disadvantaged Democrats agreed with the first statement, and only 44 percent agreed with the second.

Think about that. Just 14 percent of the Democrat disadvantaged base believes that people can get ahead by working hard. Less than half believe that everyone has the power to succeed. Marketing 101 -- if you want to advance the Democrat agenda, that’s the pessimistic perception that is your message.

And therein is why modern liberalism is at its heart a morally corrupt philosophy. Therein lies the reason Democrats support programs that expand the range of government benevolence. That is the road to power. The more people that can be convinced that working hard does not lead to success and that not everyone has the power to succeed, the greater the Democrat constituency.

To my liberal friends -- Is that really your idea of the American Dream?

Update: Swiftee also picked up on the section of the Pioneer Press article and posts a real world example of this attitude in action.