[Publib] Them Liberals, Us

[James Casey]

I find it very difficult to reconcile the Republican policies of the
past 25 years with anything resembling what most people conceive to be
"conservatism".  By "conservatism", I mean favoring fiscally responsible
management, cautious and thoughtful decision making in both foreign and
domestic affairs, preservation of the basic values of our country and
community, conservation of natural and human resources, maintaining
separation of church and state, and of course, defense of intellectual
freedom and the privacy rights of the individual.  I would venture to
say that the vast majority of Librarians share these values and opinions
and might be likely to look at the field of candidates and choose to
support Hillary or Obama while admiring the ideas and common sense of
Barry Goldwater and Everett Dirksen.  Under Reagan and the Bush
presidencies we saw huge and growing deficits, but a balanced budget and
surplus under Bill Clinton.  Could the foreign policy of Bush 43 be
considered cautious and prudent?   With revelations about wiretapping,
Justice Department policies under Gonzales and practices in Abu Graib
and Guantanamo, can we say that the current administration has been
defending privacy rights as a Goldwater supporter might espouse?    I
recommend the new dvd of the movie "No End in Sight".

 

All labels aside, I tend to think of my public librarian colleagues as
very thoughtful, fiscally responsible people.  They operate under
balanced budgets in most cases and are far more likely to be cautious
and pragmatic than reckless and extravagant in their management styles.
I'm not surprised at the outcome of the poll, but don't think that the
labels of "liberal" and "conservative" should be presumed.

 

James B. Casey --- My own views.

 

 

 

From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Backwage at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:30 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Them Liberals, Us

 

As we approach the 300 mark in the Librarian Presidential Survey, some
things have become obvious, others less so:

 

To nobody's surprise, most librarians have turned up on the
liberal/Democratic side of the ledger.  57.5 percent self-identify as
Democrats, with 3.1% Green.  I would imagine that a fair proportion of
the 21.9 percent who identify as Independent or without affiliation
would tend to lean more to the left as well.  

 

The interesting thing here is how tightly packed the three leading
choices of our librarians are.  Clinton carries 28.3 percent, Edwards
19.8 and Obama 21.6 percent.  In one national poll, Clinton is off in
the distance with 47 percent, Obama 21 and Edwards 12 points.  Another
very recent poll has Clinton at 53 percent.  

 

Compare this to schoolteachers.  In 1980, 46 percent of teachers voted
for Ronald Reagan, 41 percent for Jimmy Carter, and 10 percent for John
Anderson.  I would love to see some more up-to-date figures if anybody
has them, by the way.  

 

Are we, as a body, that much more liberal than even public school
teachers?  It seems so.  

 

Something else that our survey reveals:  34 percent named the War in
Iraq the most pressing issue (the leading choice) and 9.3 percent chose
International Relations.  This is in line with the more left-leaning
stances of the ALA's governing Council--and believe me, many more
anti-war Resolutions are proposed than actually pass through that body. 

 

So there you have it.  It's a lonely profession for a conservative
librarian--just as some of them have been saying for years.  

 

Michael McGrorty

Who will write in Adlai Stevenson, again





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