George Rebane
Today’s headline again corroborates what those who have paid attention have known for some years now. The latest WSJ/NBC poll out today reports the stark differences between the country’s Right and Left as represented by their respective Republican and Democrat party affiliations. The important part here is that the “WSJ/NBC News survey indicates a wide (and widening) split on cultural, economic issues.” The best I can tell is that the only ones who have been in denial for years, and refuse to acknowledge this divide are the lightly read local lefties, which even includes their leading lights. Limiting your input to the offerings and interpretations of DailyKos, HuffPo, CNN, MSNBC, … leaves a pretty big hole in a person’s understanding of what’s happening now.
The data-filled 6sep17 WSJ report begins with –
Divisions in America reach far beyond Washington into the nation’s culture, economy and social fabric, and the polarization began long before the rise of President Donald Trump, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey of social trends has found. … The findings help explain why political divisions are now especially hard to bridge. People who identify with either party increasingly disagree not just on policy; they inhabit separate worlds of differing social and cultural values and even see their economic outlook through a partisan lens. (emphasis mine)
Among the polls highlights are the drastic drop since Eisenhower of the opposite party’s support of the recently elected president. That percentage has dropped from Eisenhower’s 60% to 8% for Trump. The only reversals in the downtrend were for Bush1 and Bush2.
A really significant change of attitudes in how confident Americans are that their children will have better lives than they have. From August 2010 to August 2017 the Dems’ confidence fell from about 42% to 25%, and the Repubs’ confidence rose sharply from 12% to 48%. You need to read the article to get the significance of this latest survey on the national attitudes.
And today most of us see only the other party as doing all the bad things for/to the country. Here’s part of local leftie Ms Nancy Eubanks’ outrage in her 6sep17 letter to The Union.
After Trump's outrageous news conference in the aftermath of Charlottesville, many of you "say" you are against racism and bigotry, that you disavow White Supremacy and Neo-Nazi groups and what they stand for. But actions speak loader than words. You could do several things to show you really can put country above party. Stop voter suppression laws that disenfranchise minority groups. Support a new Voter Rights Act. Stop gerrymandering districts to discriminate against minority voters. In addition, take actions to show you won't compromise principles of openness and fairness. Pass a law requiring all presidents to disclose their income taxes. Require all presidents to divest themselves of any business interest so that presidents can't have any conflicts of interest. Take away the lease on the Trump Hotel in Washington D.C. so Trump can't continue to profit from that enterprise.
You can’t make this stuff up; the schism is really real.
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