If You’re a Conservative, You’re in the Plurality

Here's something you'll never hear in the mainstream media: Conservatism is the most popular ideology in the country, beating liberalism by a score of 2-1. And the numbers are there to prove it.

Instead, you'll hear commentators disparage conservatism. And there is evidence of that, too. Take a look at some of the particularly enlightening portrayals of conservatives from last week.

Time's Joe Klein said on MSNBC: Republicans have an awful lot of scared white people in their party ... and one of the things they're scared about is people of different colors and ethnicities ... polluting their white picket fence sense of America.

On Sunday morning's Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer dubbed the GOP too far right to win. On Friday, ABC's John Berman said the GOP's shift to the right is hurting in the middle.

Also on Friday, CBS This Morning praised comedian John Oliver after he suggested that America's conservatism is like crack. They played the clip of Oliver saying this on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show: America likes its conservatism cut with plenty of baking powder because one hit of the pure stuff, and you'll wake up with Eric Stoltz. ... having just plunged an adrenaline needle into your heart. Immediately after they lavished praise on the comedian.

Forgive me if I sound radical, but I took that as equating those of us who advocate conservative values as crazy, racist extremists who are killing the GOP.

But if for no other reason than the sake of their ratings, it would be wise for these talking heads to speak carefully, for they risk alienating the majority by portraying them as some fringe group of extremists instead of a legitimate group of adherents to an ideology that demands consideration.

Each year, Gallup conducts an ideology poll to determine where Americans stand on the political spectrum. This January, as always seems to be the case in recent history, Gallup found that conservatives remain the largest ideological group. Forty percent of Americans call themselves conservative while 35 percent classify themselves as moderate. A whopping 21 percent label themselves liberal.

The Gallup report by Lydia Saad noted: This marks the third straight year that conservatives have outnumbered moderates, after more than a decade in which moderates mainly tied or outnumbered conservatives.

And what about those coveted independents that Schieffer and Berman claim we're losing by moving to the right? Well, 41 percent of those independents call themselves conservative, 35 percent call themselves moderate, and only 20 percent profess to be liberal.

Nonetheless, the media will continually tell the GOP presidential field they need to moderate themselves or come to the middle if they want any hope of defeating President Barack Obama in November. I suggest the Republican nominee trust the numbers, not the media, which has little to no interest in seeing them succeed.

Many talking heads marginalize the very people who determine their ratings. The GOP nominee should proudly pronounce conservatism, or he too may isolate the very voters who can put him in the White House.

Kayleigh McEnany is a writer and political activist who graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and studied at Oxford University. She is the founder of www.RealReaganConservative.com. She writes every Tuesday for the International Business Times.