Sound The Trumpet : Political Middle Ground in America Vanishing

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“Political Middle Ground in America Vanishing”
by WND - Bob Unruh
September 1st, 2009

Nation's polarization grows over loss of liberties, rights

A new WND Freedom Index poll reveals a growing chasm between Republicans and Democrats on the subject of freedoms in the nation – just as majority Democrats in Congress are pushing for sweeping changes in how society views the basic relationship between the public and private sectors and tries to orchestrate massive takeovers of health care and environmental policy.

Republicans are "very concerned" that freedoms quickly are being eroded, while Democrats are defending President Obama and his plans for the takeover of the health care industry following his advocacy of massive energy tax hikes and intervention in banking, insurance and auto manufacturing.

The WorldNetDaily Freedom Index for August reveals that the assessment of the future of freedoms in the U.S. stabilized after a drop a month earlier.

The index, a monthly measure of how Americans feel about what might be happening to a basketful of liberties, has ticked upward slightly from July's rating of 53.2 on a 100–point scale to 54.2 in this latest survey.

Just a month earlier, it had taken a nosedive from 57.6 to 53.2.

According to pollster Fritz Wenzel of Wenzel Strategies, the results indicate that while Democrats are becoming more assertive, Republicans' fears over their liberties are rising.

"Republicans now say they are more likely to self-censor themselves when speaking about sensitive topics out of fear of some sort of retribution, compared to just a month ago," Wenzel's analysis of the results says. "Nearly a third – 32 percent – said they regularly or always self–censor what they say in public out of fear of retribution, compared to 28 percent who said the same thing just a month ago."

However, Democrats have moved the opposite direction.

"Fifty-nine percent said they never or almost never self-censor, up from 54 percent who said the same thing last month," the analysis said.

"The index, which includes 10 questions that are repeated every month in a national survey, showed that the partisan divide that usually diminishes at the beginning of a new presidency is re-emerging as Americans evaluate what the new administration's policies might mean to the country," the Wenzel report said.

"Asked if, under the Obama administration, whether freedoms are increasing or decreasing in America, 38 percent said they are increasing, while 48 percent said they are decreasing. That number is similar to our July measurement of the identical question. However, among Democrats, 66 percent said freedoms are increasing – up 9 percentage points from just last month. Meanwhile, 77 percent of Republicans said freedoms are decreasing, which is 8 points higher than just a month earlier," the report said.

Even independents are more fearful, with 54 percent saying they believe freedoms are being lost under Obama. That was up from 49 percent who said that last month.

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13