By now, everyone knows that our political parties are deeply polarized—and the American people only somewhat less so. Does that mean that we can’t even agree on the problems we need to address?
To some extent, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, the answer is yes. There are issues that Democrats care deeply about—global warming and the needs of the poor, for example—that are far down the list of Republican priorities. Similarly, Republicans care about strengthening the military and dealing with moral breakdown a lot more than Democrats do.
But a closer analysis of the Pew data reveals that in addition to these partisan agendas, there is an American Agenda of “top priorities” supported by majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents and by a super-majority (60% or more) of all Americans. CONT.
William A. Galston, Brookings Institution