Although one would never know it from watching CNN or reading the New York Times, the fundamental values of the United States public are remarkably progressive, even radical. On a wide range of major issues, the public lies well to the left of both major political parties.
Public attitudes toward large corporations are clear. According to Gallup, Harris, and Pew polls from recent years, around two-thirds of the public think corporations and wealthy individuals should pay higher taxes, 84 percent think corporations should have less political power and less than 15 percent deem the companies in most major industries to be “generally honest and trustworthy.”
Conversely, the public thinks workers should have more money and power. In a series of polls by diverse organizations in 2005-06, over 80 percent—including the vast majority of registered Republicans—routinely stated that the minimum wage should be raised.
Between 66 and 76 percent agree that unionized workers fare better than their non-unionized counterparts.  The public’s positive view of labor unions is extraordinary given the longstanding anti-union bias of the corporate media and the corporate antiunion campaigns of recent decades.
A vast majority also agrees that government should guarantee that people’s basic needs are met. According to a 2008 poll by the respected Program on International Policy Attitudes, at least three-quarters of the population considers education and food to be basic human rights.
For decades, the U.S. public has also overwhelmingly supported the basic concept of a single-payer, or “Medicare For All,” health care system—the same system that is staunchly opposed by all Congressional Republicans and most Democrats. The vast majority consistently states that the government should ensure that everyone has health care; in the August 2008 PIPA poll, in which 77 percent expressed this opinion, even 57 percent of those who planned to vote for John McCain in the presidential election agreed.
Ordinary people of both party affiliations also favor massive cuts to the Pentagon budget; a detailed 2006 poll found that registered Republicans would reduce the military budget by 20 percent, while registered Democrats would cut it by 48 percent.
In contrast, the Bush and Obama administrations have nearly doubled military spending above the already astronomical 2001 figures the figure for this year is a record-high $708 billion.
When asked about climate change, the public overwhelmingly supports a binding treaty along the lines of the Kyoto agreement that the US rejected. Sixty-six percent—including 60 percent of those who planned to vote for McCain in 2008—“favor the government requiring utilities to use more alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, even if this increases costs in the short-run.”
The public’s progressive inclinations are also apparent on most foreign policy issues. People favor adherence to international law, diplomacy over military intervention and significant levels of foreign aid, as the following PIPA polls indicate:
•60 percent are unequivocally opposed to all forms of physical torture (June 2009),
• Three-quarters, including 65 percent of registered Republicans, oppose Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (April 2009).
• 59 percent are opposed to the U.S. embargo against Cuba (April 2009).
• 75 percent oppose US military threats against Iran (November 2006).
• 73 percent say that all nuclear weapons should be permanently eliminated (November 2007).
• 64 percent want the U.S. to fund public health efforts in underdeveloped countries (March-April 2009).
The basic values of most ordinary people are quite consistent across party lines: the desire to have control over one’s life and work; the desire for adequate food, shelter, medical care and perhaps some small luxuries; the desire for physical security; and the belief that the U.S. should obey international law.
There is nothing about these values that would make their adherents natural allies of those who lead the Republican or Democratic parties.
The main reason that the popularity of President Barack Obama and the Democrats has been dropping is that rather than acting in accordance with the above values, the president and the Democratic Congress have done almost nothing to satisfy the basic demands of suffering U.S. workers.
Lack of government responsiveness is painfully obvious to the public. According to an August 2010 poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, 81 percent think that the U.S. “is pretty much run by a few big interests.”  People don’t like the Democrats. The only reason the Democrats retain much popularity at all is that most people hate the Republicans even more.
But in historical scenarios where no genuine representative political force is available (e.g., 1930’s Germany, or 1970’s Iran), there is great danger that radical right-wing demagogues posing as “outsiders” can gain popularity. Such is the main reason behind the rise of the corporate-funded Tea Party movement, overblown by the media but scary nonetheless.
According to the August WPO poll, those who sympathize with the Tea Party generally do so not because they fear “big government,” but because they observe that current politicians are “not following the will of the people.”
Although the Tea Party agenda would hurt the material interests of U.S. workers, Tea Party leaders can attract support by appealing to public’s anger over the government’s unresponsiveness.
The dismal performance of the Obama administration to date should serve as a reminder that meaningful social change never comes from the ballot box. Instead, it comes through building independent mass movements. Since most of the country shares the core values demonstrated above, the atmosphere is ripe for building such movements.
For the polls cited please email [email protected]