Is America fundementaly conservative? No. According to a new report...

The issues covered in this report include the following:

* The role of government - Americans support an active government that tackles problems, provides services, and aids those in need.

* The economy - Americans support increasing the minimum wage and strong unions, and believe the wealthy and corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes.

* Social issues - Americans support legal abortion and embryonic stem cell research; opinions on equal rights for women and gay Americans have grown dramatically more progressive in recent years.

* Security - Americans support a progressive approach to national security, emphasizing strong alliances and diplomacy over the indiscriminate use of military force. On domestic security issues, progressive approaches to crime and gun control enjoy wide support.

* The environment - By enormous margins, Americans favor strong environmental protections, a core progressive belief.

* Energy - Americans support energy conservation and the development of alternative fuels.

* Health care - Americans clearly favor universal coverage and are more than comfortable with government solutions to the health care problem.

This isn't really a surprise to me nor does it matter when America and her media is fundamentally gullible. Pols know and exploit this. A recent example would be how the Bush administration paved the way for war in Iraq. Hopefully the open-source revolution will allay this cancer. To that end, it is comforting to know that a majority of Americans don't hold conservative views when it comes to the issues listed above. They can call themselves conservatives if it's trendy (a fading trend) as long as they don't actually act like conservatives.