Talk/Talk: Decision Time

From last week's Talk/Talk with Jackie Salit and Fred Newman "Decision Time"
Newman: So, I don’t think it’s a question of conservatism being played out. I think the conservatives have done an extraordinary job, they have out-flanked and out-foxed liberalism. That has as much to do with liberalism’s backing off of its principles as it has to do with conservatism’s popularity. I think these two go together....

And from March 11th Topsy-Turvy Times. It's amazing, isn't it? I'm talking about the extremes to which the establishment will go to deny the existence of the independent movement. That's the obvious factor in all of this. The independent movement is more than a third of the electorate, yes?

Liberal moment or conservative slump?

The L Word: Leftward, Ho?
By MARK LEIBOVICH
...A Gallup survey last month found that Democrats led Republicans by 34 percent to 31 percent in party affiliation — the largest Democratic advantage since the Clinton administration (34 percent of respondents identified themselves as independents). ... (New York Times)

Black voters: Liberalism is exhausted

African-Americans' disagreements vented 'Esquire' essay sparks the latest firestorm
By Erin Texeira, The Associated Press
..."Black conservatives have had to go to the mainstream and make their arguments there because there is no place in the black community for those arguments to be made - not the black church or anywhere," said Shelby Steele, an award-winning author and a fellow at the Hoover Institution.
"Liberalism is exhausted," he added, but that idea "will only be taken seriously if it's in the mainstream."
The conservative tag Steele uses for those who share at least part of his vision is slippery. Some identify as Republicans, but others are independents and Democrats - or eschew political labels. ... (Concord Monitor)