THE CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE – AT 7:18 P.M. ET:  A new Gallup Poll has good news for conservatives:

PRINCETON, NJ -- The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end political ideology figures confirm Gallup's initial reporting: conservatives (40%) outnumbered both moderates (36%) and liberals (21%) across the nation in 2009.

More broadly, the percentage of Americans calling themselves either conservative or liberal has increased over the last decade, while the percentage of moderates has declined.

And...

The rather abrupt three-point increase between 2008 and 2009 in the percentage of Americans calling themselves conservative is largely owing to an increase -- from 30% to 35% -- in the percentage of political independents adopting the label.

COMMENT:  It seems to me that the key figure is the small percentage of Americans who call themselves liberals, contrasted with the vast power that liberals have in Washington today.  Only 21%, according to Gallup, are liberals.  (And that number is probably smaller among actual voters.)  And yet, liberals control the White House and Congress, and are pushing through an agenda that most Americans oppose.

Conservatives plus moderates equal 76% of the Gallup sample.  By any reasonable standard, that 76% should have far greater power in Washington.  We look forward to a corrective in November.

January 7, 2009