US election candidates positions in one pretty graph

[matgb]

The Political Compass has an analysis of the candidates in the US Primaries 2007: Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel are depicted on the extreme left in an American context, they would simply be mainstream social democrats within the wider political landscape of Europe. Similarly, Hillary Clinton is popularly perceived as a leftist in the United

Comments

[matgb]

Aye, the great shame is the US system gives him no chance at all, it's one of the few countries with a worse electoral system than ours.

Ah well.

[susanne_est_moi]

Oh dear, dear Dennis.

There's actually quite a few really good reasons NOT to vote for him. He was the mayor of my fair city back in the day and although he's a really decent guy with a few great ideas, his leadership abilities are sorely lacking.

I'm thrilled, however, that he has remained in the political sphere, just so that people realize that there IS another voice, another opinion out there.

I think it's quite telling that the Democratic candidates are quite towards the center. Most people over here are starting to realize that we really aren't going to get anywhere with extreme candidates in one way or the other. Moderates are the future and, after these horrid eight years are over with, I don't think you'd find it surprising at all that moderates are considered to be "radically left-wing". Right now, I feel like we're off the map.

[matgb]

Centrist candidates in FPTP is good. Big problem is that they're the wrong side of the center, that top right quadrant is far too packed.

And yeah, an analysis of opinion/issues is never going to tell you much about character and competence, it's just a shame that there are so few out there in the right quadrant. Currently.

Read a good post by Tim yesterday, he's a bit to my right but has a good point:
http://timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/2007/09/rhetorical-ques.html

[sylo_tode]

When I did a survey in 2004 that matched your political stance against the candidates, I got a 100% match with Kucinich (this did not include my opinion on eating meat or other superfluous concepts). Sharpton was second.

Bush was 0%.

[matgb]

That doesn't surprise me at all.

What does surprise me is that there are so many USians within the bottom quadrant, but seemingly completely unrepresented within the actual elected sphere.

We have that problem, but we have many politicians talking to us, and many of them get treated seriously by the media. Even if only barely.

[baseballchica03]

I know HOW MUCH does this country suck? It may as well be a one party state for all the "change in power" matters.

[baseballchica03]

It also, by the way, supports my theory about fucking Bill Clinton and his stupid fucking "New Democrats" pulling everyone in this country further and further to the right so that we have no actual Left to speak of. *grumble grumble worst thing to happen to the Democratic Party hate*

[matgb]

Oh, electorally what Clinton did was right-Downs et al-but it hasn't helped that the media has followed him and the left either caved in or allowed themselves to be portrayed as idiots for, well, acting like idiots.

We have similar problems over here, but our districts are small enough that concentrated ares of traditional left can get some fairly radical politicians elected to national office, unlike say over there where the Greens and similar are a power in San Francisco but barely scratch the radar anywhere else.

Then there's the whole race/class divide which splits the left far too much-Kanye said George Bush doesn't care about black people-untrue, he's got black friends. He just doesn't care about poor people. At all, but divide and rule stayed in effect even during the horrors of Katrina

[tyrell]

I'm pretty amazed just how liberal Hillary shows up on there. Doesn't say good things for Barak or Biden.

[matgb]

Aye, but then all are acting within the system they're in. Barack remains my choice to win, simply because he's got a chance and is closer than the rest.

I suspect I'll not be happy with the result regardless, but lesser of two evils is still lesser.