Foresthill
EOG Addicted
From electoral-vote.com:
Poll: Maybe America Is Less Divided Than it Seems
Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights and Institute of Politics has a very interesting new poll out, addressing exactly how divided America really is. They produced two major findings. The first is that more than 70% of Americans (including 74% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans) think that the people of the United States have more in common than it seems. The second is that the vast majority of people take an expansive view of "rights" that goes far beyond those spelled out in the Constitution. That includes, among other things, a belief in the right to clean air and water (93% support), to data privacy (also 93%), to a quality education (92%), to equal treatment regardless of race (92%), and to affordable health care (89%).
Clearly, it is much easier to find agreement when speaking in abstract terms. For example, there is undoubtedly much variety of opinion about exactly what "equal treatment regardless of race" actually means. Still, the idea that "rights" go beyond what is laid out in black and white in the Constitution is more a Democratic position than a Republican one. Further, the fact that a large majority of respondents envisions a more unified America, and believes that it can (and, to an extent, already does) exist, suggests on some level that people are weary of the divisiveness of the last decade or so. If so, then that will give the presidential candidate who can successfully sell themselves as a unifier and not a divider a leg up on November 3. Both major-party candidates are trying to make that argument about themselves but, from where we sit, one has a much better case than the other.
As has been reported many, many times, there are tens of millions of voters who say: "Why can't the parties work together?" The answer is that they want contradictory things. How about that right to clean air and water? Suppose a potential Biden administration wanted to spend $200 billion to clean up the nation's air and water and wanted to pay for it by raising taxes on the rich. We can guarantee you that the Republicans will howl. It's not that they are against clean air and water. It's just that they are against the taxes needed to pay for it (in other words they want a "free lunch" that doesn't exist and in many cases they polluted the air and water to get rich -- an externality whose cost they passed on to the rest of us -- and now don't want to pay for). What about affordable health care? Republicans want to keep the current system of private, profit-making insurance companies in place. It is to the insurance companies' advantage to deny as much coverage as they can get away with and have as many co-payments and deductibles as is feasible. Democrats are moving toward the government as insurance company, whether via a public option to Medicare or M4A. Private insurance and government insurance are not compatible, except maybe for minor extras not covered by a government plan. The voters don't understand this, but the leaders of both parties certainly do. (Z) (bolding, underlining, italicizing, and 2nd parenthetical thought mine)
Poll: Maybe America Is Less Divided Than it Seems
Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights and Institute of Politics has a very interesting new poll out, addressing exactly how divided America really is. They produced two major findings. The first is that more than 70% of Americans (including 74% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans) think that the people of the United States have more in common than it seems. The second is that the vast majority of people take an expansive view of "rights" that goes far beyond those spelled out in the Constitution. That includes, among other things, a belief in the right to clean air and water (93% support), to data privacy (also 93%), to a quality education (92%), to equal treatment regardless of race (92%), and to affordable health care (89%).
Clearly, it is much easier to find agreement when speaking in abstract terms. For example, there is undoubtedly much variety of opinion about exactly what "equal treatment regardless of race" actually means. Still, the idea that "rights" go beyond what is laid out in black and white in the Constitution is more a Democratic position than a Republican one. Further, the fact that a large majority of respondents envisions a more unified America, and believes that it can (and, to an extent, already does) exist, suggests on some level that people are weary of the divisiveness of the last decade or so. If so, then that will give the presidential candidate who can successfully sell themselves as a unifier and not a divider a leg up on November 3. Both major-party candidates are trying to make that argument about themselves but, from where we sit, one has a much better case than the other.
As has been reported many, many times, there are tens of millions of voters who say: "Why can't the parties work together?" The answer is that they want contradictory things. How about that right to clean air and water? Suppose a potential Biden administration wanted to spend $200 billion to clean up the nation's air and water and wanted to pay for it by raising taxes on the rich. We can guarantee you that the Republicans will howl. It's not that they are against clean air and water. It's just that they are against the taxes needed to pay for it (in other words they want a "free lunch" that doesn't exist and in many cases they polluted the air and water to get rich -- an externality whose cost they passed on to the rest of us -- and now don't want to pay for). What about affordable health care? Republicans want to keep the current system of private, profit-making insurance companies in place. It is to the insurance companies' advantage to deny as much coverage as they can get away with and have as many co-payments and deductibles as is feasible. Democrats are moving toward the government as insurance company, whether via a public option to Medicare or M4A. Private insurance and government insurance are not compatible, except maybe for minor extras not covered by a government plan. The voters don't understand this, but the leaders of both parties certainly do. (Z) (bolding, underlining, italicizing, and 2nd parenthetical thought mine)