Polls Show the Public Is Willing to Sacrifice for Ukraine. History Suggests Biden Shouldn’t Count On It.

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You can understand why the White House would welcome a new Reuters poll finding more than three in five Americans say they’d “willingly” pay more at the gas pump to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Of course, Americans also say they plan to exercise more, eat more vegetables and watch more documentaries on television.

Joe Biden is enjoying a rare, modest bump in his approval rating, perhaps off his State of the Union address and his steady handling of the Ukraine crisis. He’s even speculating that Democrats could yet keep the House come November. But as U.S. sanctions against Russia become more painful for the American public, Biden should ask himself a couple of difficult questions: When are Americans actually willing to sacrifice in an international conflict or crisis? And who gets punished politically when the cost of engagement hits home? CONTINUED

Jeff Greenfield, Politico Magazine

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Strong jobs sentiment keeps overall U.S. consumer confidence stable despite inflation worries

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Overall consumer sentiment is holding steady despite Americans’ strong concerns about the effect of the war in Ukraine on their daily life, including rising gas and food prices and worsening supply chain issues. The main index reads at 52.5 in this week’s Ipsos-Forbes Advisor U.S. Consumer Confidence Tracker, down only half a point from two weeks ago, on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. CONTINUED

Ipsos

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Voting rights in the United States

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Many Americans think significant progress has already been made on equal voting rights for African Americans; most Black Americans disagree. However, there is agreement that more work needs to be done to achieve equal treatment at the polling booth for Black Americans and there is support from both white and Black Americans for new policies to make it easier to vote. …

When it comes to election regulation or access to voting, most Americans, regardless of party, favor requiring photo identification to vote. There is also support for automatically registering adult citizens to vote when they get drivers licenses or other state identification, so-called ‘motor voter’ laws, and allowing citizens to register and vote on the same day at their polling place. Nearly half of the public favors allowing people to vote by mail without requiring them to give a reason. CONTINUED

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research

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4 in 10 Workers Say They Missed Work During the Omicron Surge Due to COVID-19 Illness, Quarantine or Closure

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The surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the omicron variant led to widespread work disruptions, with about 4 in 10 workers (42%) – including 6 in 10 of those with lower incomes – saying they had to miss work at least once in the past three months because of a COVID-19 illness, quarantine, or closure, a new KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report shows.

Among all workers, a quarter (26%) say they missed work because they had to quarantine following a COVID-19 exposure, 20% missed work after testing positive, and 13% missed work because their employer was closed or had reduced hours due to COVID-19 concerns. In addition, nearly 3 in 10 employed parents (28%) say they had to miss work to stay home with a child who had to quarantine or because their child’s school went virtual. CONTINUED

Kaiser Family Foundation

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Poll of Local Election Officials Finds Safety Fears for Colleagues — and Themselves

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As American democracy finds itself under assault from lies about the 2020 presidential race being “stolen, ” election officials are a prime target in the attempt to undermine future elections. In 2020, in the face of a pandemic, record-high turnout, and a flood of disinformation about the election process and its integrity, these officials managed to run “the most secure election in American history.”

But now, a new Brennan Center poll of local election officials around the country shows how damaging the sustained attacks against them and their colleagues have been, putting apolitical election administration and our democratic system in serious danger. CONTINUED

Ruby Edlin & Turquoise Baker, Brennan Center

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The polarization in today’s Congress has roots that go back decades

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It’s become commonplace among observers of U.S. politics to decry partisan polarization in Congress. Indeed, a Pew Research Center analysis finds that, on average, Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the past 50 years.

But the dynamics behind today’s congressional polarization have been long in the making. The analysis of members’ ideological scores finds that the current standoff between Democrats and Republicans is the result of several overlapping trends that have been playing themselves out – and sometimes reinforcing each other – for decades. CONTINUED

Drew DeSilver, Pew Research Center

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