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Most Democrats want the party to move left

Written by

Diane Archer

in

,

A new Harvard-Harris poll reveals that most Democrats want the party to move left. More than half of registered Democrats surveyed do not support its current leadership. Almost 70 percent of Democrats between the ages of 18 and 34 support Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage, and free public college tuition.

To be specific, when asked, “Do you support or oppose movements within the Democratic Party to take it even further to the left and oppose the current Democratic leaders?”52 percent of Democratic respondents said yes. Of the Democratic voters, female voters (55 percent), Hispanic voters (65 percent), and African-American voters (55 percent) lean more to the left than do whites (46 percent) or men (49 percent).

The poll of 2,159 registered voters reveals other interesting findings: Only 29 percent of people surveyed believe that the country is on the right track. More than double that percentage, 60 percent said they believe that the country is on the wrong track. That said, 44 percent said they believed the economy was on the right track, and only 41 percent said they believed it was on the wrong track.

Almost half of respondents (47 percent) saw health care as the most important issue facing the country, followed by terrorism and national security (37 percent) and the economy and jobs (29 percent). And, relative to 12 other politicians, Bernie Sanders ranked highest. More than half of respondents (53 percent) had a favorable view of Bernie Sanders; 41 percent had a favorable view of Donald Trump.

More than four in ten respondents (42 percent) either strongly or somewhat approved of the job President Trump is doing. Nearly six in ten respondents (58 percent) either strongly or somewhat disapproved of the job President Trump is doing.

And, only 29 percent of respondents, not even three in ten, strongly or somewhat approve of the job the Republican Party is doing. More than seven in ten of them, 71 percent, strongly or somewhat disapprove of the job the Republican Party is doing. The Democratic Party only fares ten points better than the Republican Party, with just 39 percent of respondents strongly approving or somewhat approving of the job it is doing.

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Comments

3 responses to “Most Democrats want the party to move left”

  1. Luis Lozano Avatar
    Luis Lozano

    Be bold. Be proactive. Go left. We don’t need more middle of the road, mealy mouthed Dems who want to play it safe. No one ever won anything or made any progress without taking risks and offering a real vision for change.

    Reply
  2. Dan S Avatar
    Dan S

    The DNC MUST get rid of the HACKS that gave the election to Drumph. If they had had a real primary system Hillary would be president and Bernie would be vice- president and congress would be more evenly divided

    Reply
  3. BC Shelby Avatar
    BC Shelby

    …indeed, the Party has become too centrist, if not slipped slightly to the right. It needs to eschew neo-liberalism and status quo policy and embrace progressive ideals/change if it truly wants to become the party of the people as it claims to be.

    However when it comes to free post secondary education, what we really need is it to apply the concept to 2 year colleges and public vocational schools as well as apprenticeship programmes as there is where real and lasting career skills are taught. For one tuition alone is not the only cost, and often not the biggest one of getting a four year degree at a public university, there is room, board, books/supplies, a computer (notebook or desktop), clothing, transportation/travel between school and home, and other school imposed fees that all add up.

    By the same token we also need employers to stop requiring 4 year degrees for occupations that never did and/or don’t really need one (like warehouse, facility, and office management). We also need to get the notion out of young people’s heads through career counseling in high school of the trades being “dirty” low end occupations. On the contrary, many trades pay very well, in some cases better than what someone from a four year college will earn after graduation. (and you don’t have that huge debt to pay off). I was speaking to one fellow last night who makes just over 100,000$ as an electrician and receives many benefits offered by the trade union that employers look for ways to welch out on and that are being restricted or eliminated on a political level. True he has worked in the occupation for a good number of years, but try that in the tech industry which considers people over 40 (sometimes even 35) to be “over the hill”.

    Interestingly had I remained with the company I worked for back in the 70s I would today be earning around 81,000$ If I just stayed in that same position. Most likely I would have ended up becoming shop steward, earning even more and on retirement received a pension I could actually live rather than barely survive on (as well as have a nice nest egg put away for my senior years and a home that was paid for). Yeah it was one of those “dirty” blue collar union trade jobs But I would be a lot further ahead than I am today, struggling month to month on Social Security (which is being threatened by the current administration) and paying more than half my monthly benefit in rent alone.

    Yeah I admit was one who made the mistake of getting “wooed” by the promise of “better earnings” and “working conditions” by going to a four year college and taking out loans to cover costs (which I finally paid off five years ago). What was my programme? Music and Art Education which became the first victims of school budget cuts. When I saw what was happening, I bailed out to save going further into debt for what would have then been a pretty worthless degree. I went back to school years later not to complete that degree, but to gain experience in computer science and programming to rebuild my skill set in something that had a future.

    Reply

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