Ruh roh!!!
They’re Still Losing Middle America
How can Democrats win back the Congress if moderate voters disagree with them?
House Democratic leaders James Clyburn, Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi look on as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.PHOTO: SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
By
James Freeman
Jan. 31, 2018 12:09 p.m. ET
757 COMMENTS
On Tuesday night, for the second year in a row, President Donald Trump delivered an impressive and effective speech to a joint session of Congress. Also for the second year in a row, many Democrats chose to offer minimal or no applause for ideas that are broadly popular in the United States. “Resistance” to our duly-elected President may be big fun for left-wing activists, but it’s not a strategy for reclaiming the Congress in 2018 or the White House in 2020.
After the conclusion of Mr. Trump’s State of the Union address last night, CNN polled a nationwide sample of viewers. Their responses may give a sense of how far away the congressional frowning caucus is sitting from average voters.
Such polls generally show strong support for whichever President is giving a State of the Union address. That’s because his most ardent supporters are most likely to watch and are therefore eligible to participate in the survey. No surprise, CNN polled more Republicans than Democrats. And Mr. Trump scored well on a range of questions about the speech and his agenda.
But what is striking now—just as it was during his 2016 election campaign—is how popular this supposedly polarizing figure is among non-partisans.
Among independents in the CNN poll, 48% said they had a “very positive” overall reaction to the Trump speech, and another 28% said their reaction was “somewhat positive.” So a full 76% of independents gave the State of the Union address at least a qualified thumbs-up. As a threshold matter, this suggests that a complete refusal to deal with the White House is a political blunder. This may help explain why Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently had to abandon his Saturday shutdown by lunchtime on Monday.
The blunder also appears significant when you look at viewer reaction to the issues advanced by the President in his Tuesday remarks. CNN asked, “Do you think the policies being proposed by Donald Trump will move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction?” Among independents, 67% said his policies were moving the country in the right direction compared to just 29% who said the Trump agenda is headed in the wrong direction.
Independents in the CNN poll also expressed strong support for his economic agenda, with 76% saying that such Trump policies have the U.S. moving in the right direction.
The biggest political winner of all is the Trump plan to construct more roads and bridges. This column is deeply concerned about yet another infrastructure boondoggle, but an overwhelming 82% of independents in the CNN survey support the President on this one. This suggests that Mr. Schumer will need to find a way to support him on this issue as well.
Voters in Middle America still want what Donald Trump is selling. And a bilingual speech from a well-lubricated trustafarian is unlikely to change their minds.
Northeastern suburbanites are certainly capable of knitting a lot of hats between now and November. But reaction to Tuesday’s speech suggests that no blue wave can reach beyond the coasts as long as Democrats refuse to listen to moderate voters.
***
They’re Still Losing Middle America
How can Democrats win back the Congress if moderate voters disagree with them?
House Democratic leaders James Clyburn, Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi look on as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.PHOTO: SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
By
James Freeman
Jan. 31, 2018 12:09 p.m. ET
757 COMMENTS
On Tuesday night, for the second year in a row, President Donald Trump delivered an impressive and effective speech to a joint session of Congress. Also for the second year in a row, many Democrats chose to offer minimal or no applause for ideas that are broadly popular in the United States. “Resistance” to our duly-elected President may be big fun for left-wing activists, but it’s not a strategy for reclaiming the Congress in 2018 or the White House in 2020.
After the conclusion of Mr. Trump’s State of the Union address last night, CNN polled a nationwide sample of viewers. Their responses may give a sense of how far away the congressional frowning caucus is sitting from average voters.
Such polls generally show strong support for whichever President is giving a State of the Union address. That’s because his most ardent supporters are most likely to watch and are therefore eligible to participate in the survey. No surprise, CNN polled more Republicans than Democrats. And Mr. Trump scored well on a range of questions about the speech and his agenda.
But what is striking now—just as it was during his 2016 election campaign—is how popular this supposedly polarizing figure is among non-partisans.
Among independents in the CNN poll, 48% said they had a “very positive” overall reaction to the Trump speech, and another 28% said their reaction was “somewhat positive.” So a full 76% of independents gave the State of the Union address at least a qualified thumbs-up. As a threshold matter, this suggests that a complete refusal to deal with the White House is a political blunder. This may help explain why Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently had to abandon his Saturday shutdown by lunchtime on Monday.
The blunder also appears significant when you look at viewer reaction to the issues advanced by the President in his Tuesday remarks. CNN asked, “Do you think the policies being proposed by Donald Trump will move the country in the right direction or the wrong direction?” Among independents, 67% said his policies were moving the country in the right direction compared to just 29% who said the Trump agenda is headed in the wrong direction.
Independents in the CNN poll also expressed strong support for his economic agenda, with 76% saying that such Trump policies have the U.S. moving in the right direction.
The biggest political winner of all is the Trump plan to construct more roads and bridges. This column is deeply concerned about yet another infrastructure boondoggle, but an overwhelming 82% of independents in the CNN survey support the President on this one. This suggests that Mr. Schumer will need to find a way to support him on this issue as well.
Voters in Middle America still want what Donald Trump is selling. And a bilingual speech from a well-lubricated trustafarian is unlikely to change their minds.
Northeastern suburbanites are certainly capable of knitting a lot of hats between now and November. But reaction to Tuesday’s speech suggests that no blue wave can reach beyond the coasts as long as Democrats refuse to listen to moderate voters.
***
