This Gallup graph has been making the rounds of websites, prompting an interesting discussion about what it means. Over at The American Prospect, the idea is that the change is connected to the election of a Democratic president. The Economist follows up on that post by saying that things have not really changed when it comes to our freedoms.
Perhaps the best summary, though, comes from the comments:
These differences are not a simplistic function of unthinking partisanship. They actually reflect profound philosophical differences. Republicans and Democrats generally fear government for entirely different reasons.
Democrats generally fear three main things from a conservative government: (1) theocratic restrictions on social behavior (e.g. abortion, gay marriage, drug enforcement, etc.), (2) allowing capitalism to run amok, leading to wealth inequalities that are “unfair” and lead to social instability, and (3) military adventurism supported by belief in American exceptionalism.
Republicans, on the other hand, fear government for almost the opposite reasons: (1) abandoning the traditional moral basis of public policy in America, (2) expanding government rules and programs in ways that will bankrupt the country, drive up taxes, seize control of more and more of the economy, and undermine the freedom of citizens to “pursue happiness” through private enterprise, and (3) weaken America’s international standing and thus undermine our ability to provide for peace by exerting leadership in world affairs.
It is understandable that Democrats feared a Republican “theocracy” under President Bush — his administration generally adhered to traditional moral values in setting social policy on things like abortion rights, stem cell research, gay marriage and drug policy, tended to reduce government regulation, and its neo-con belief in a moral mandate to promote American-style democracy in the middle east arguably pulled us into two catastrophic wars. From a Democratic mindset, those are all very threatening phenomena.
In contrast, for a conservative Republican the Obama adminstration is a socialist nightmare: nationalizing most of the auto industry, forcing state ownership on many of our banks, passing massive new regulatory programs, and the Obamacare legislation that is widely viewed (in part because Pelosi and others specifically said as much!) is step one on the road to nationalized healthcare. All accompanied by a massive expansion of the federal bureaucracy and aggressive expansion of federal authority into matters traditionally reserved to the states. And in foreign affairs, weakening our position as leader of the free world by pulling back from support for our allies and apologizing and accommodating our enemies and potential enemies.
So this isn’t just knee-jerk negativity driven by resentment of the other party winning an election. It reflects genuine fears in both parties about the direction that a government is leading, based on very real differences in political philosophy.
Couldn’t have said it better myself 😉
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Yeah, government’s a threat, but of course huge multi-national corporations have our best interests at heart.
At least with them, they know that if you are too poor to buy their products, they go down, too.
Which begs the question…does a middle ground exist?
And if so, where is it?
Sure — that government IN GENERAL is a danger to liberty. Only whether it is an IMMEDIATE danger was the question in the poll. So the middle ground is a federal government that is strictly limited by the Constitution.
I don’t see the Monday morning Redskins post, Viv. So, as a Bears fan, I just wanted to say you Redskins rooters are welcome for the gift my guys gave you yesterday.
OK, now here’s another question: How many recognize that the view that government is an immediate threat to the citizens is one shared by the Founders and the Framers?