Paramount Skydance CEO has repeatedly cited the statistic when laying out the approach that CBS News and potentially CNN would take
During an early March appearance on CNBC, the Paramount Skydance chief executive, David Ellison, cited a statistic he has come to rely on when laying out his editorial approach for CBS News and, potentially, the cable network he has made a deal to own, CNN. The young media mogul said the networks will prioritize reaching “the 70% of Americans and really around the world that identify as center-left, as center-right”.
The idea of an unaddressed center ground is a powerful talking point. In a world of increasingly partisan politics, Ellison’s promise to address the unheard, silent majority packs a punch – and fits nicely with the approach of one of his most high-profile lieutenants, the heterodox commentator Bari Weiss.
Unfortunately, it appears that Ellison’s 70% figure is not supported by publicly available polling data on the ideological orientation of Americans.
A recent YouGov survey – conducted last fall and published in January – found that only 40% of US adult citizens identify as “center-left”, “center” or “center-right”, not 70%.
Ok, but what does that mean? “Republican” and “Democrat” are not ideologies, they’re political parties. And very broad parties, at that. Because of our de facto two party system, both parties usually try to be “big tents.” So neither party ever has exclusively one ideology.
What is the guiding ideology of the Republican party (or rather, what was it before the party became the cult of Trump)? What is the guiding ideology of the Democratic party? I think it used to be Neoliberalism, or “Third Way” Liberalism. But what is it today? Is it still Third Way Liberalism, like during the Bill Clinton era? Or is it more traditional Social Democracy?
In a lot of ways, the Third Way was meant to be a compromise between Neoliberals and Social Democrats, but are either of those sides willing to compromise today? Should they compromise? It seems to me there are aspects of Neoliberalism and Social Democracy that are mutually exclusive. For instance, Neoliberalism usually wants lower taxes, but Social Democrats want a strong social safety funded by a progressive tax system, which usually means higher taxes, at least for income earners near the top. Well, taxes can’t be both lower and higher at the same time, so which is it? You can compromise and just lower taxes a little, and have a smaller safety net, but while compromise seems like a good idea, it usually just ends up with watered down policies that no one is fully happy with.
So where are the majority of Americans, ideologically? Is there a majority ideological consensus? If so, what is it?