New Year’s Resolutions for Democrats

· Leave a Comment

… From the vantage point of a little distance, many Democrats in Washington seem to be struggling with message. So here are some suggested New Year’s message resolutions from a thousand miles (give or take) to the South.

1. Talk about what people care about. Talking about policy and programs that, granted, may benefit us all in the years to come just seems off to people who are thinking about now. People have too many immediate economic problems and COVID frustrations to want to hear about much else.

2. Do not declare pre-mature victories. Even major legislative victories do not fill the gas tank, fix the supply chain, or take down the restaurant signs apologizing for slow service due to staff shortages. Better to communicate you know what the problems are and are working on it than that you have solved a problem people didn’t even know was there when they are focused on self-evident ones they face day-to-day. CONTINUED

Diane Feldman, View from the Pearl

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

House’s Jan. 6 probe is popular — even among many Republicans

· Leave a Comment

House Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the select committee investigating last year’s attack on the Capitol, but GOP voters are more supportive of the group’s work.

About 40 percent of Republicans indicated they approve of the special investigative body in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult survey. However, 44 percent of GOP voters disapproved of the select committee, while 16 percent said they did not have an opinion.

A solid majority of all voters — 62 percent — characterized those who stormed the Capitol as supporters of then-President Donald Trump, although only 43 percent of Republican-identified voters expressed that belief. CONTINUED

Nick Niedzwiadek, Politico

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

Majority of Americans think Jan. 6 attack threatened democracy

· Leave a Comment

Nearly a year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a strong majority of Americans condemn it and believe former President Donald Trump is at least partially to blame. But partisan splits have hardened over time, with Republicans still largely backing Trump’s version of events, a new ABC/Ipsos poll finds.

An overwhelming majority (72%) of Americans believe the people involved in the attack on the Capitol were “threatening democracy,” while 1 in 4 Americans believes that the individuals involved were “protecting democracy.” CONTINUED

Brittany Shepherd, ABC News

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

The “Big Lie” and the dangers of denying election results

· Leave a Comment

Baseless allegations of election fraud amplified by President Donald Trump fueled the violent siege on the Capitol last January 6, intended to stop the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s victory. Fallout from conspiracy theories has included death threats and harassment directed toward election officials. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett talks with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (whom Trump tried to pressure to “find” enough votes that would win him the state), and with other officials who fear denying the results of elections is chipping away at the integrity of our democracy.

CBS News

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

A year after Jan. 6, violence still seen threatening U.S. democracy, and some say force can be justified

· Leave a Comment

Even as so many Americans decry the events of January 6, the day has had lasting impacts on the nation’s psyche, the most immediate of which is that millions of Americans think more violence is coming, and that democracy itself might be threatened.

The reality — and this won’t allay all those fears — is that there are some Americans who generally view force or political violence undertaken by others as justifiable, depending on the situation. That applies to the violence on January 6, and to a few for whom 2020 remains unsettled, but also extends to other issues, from abortion to gun policy to civil rights. And it’s partially related to beliefs that political opponents are an existential threat, or being convinced they’ll do worse to you. CONTINUED

CBS News

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack

Republicans and Democrats divided over Jan. 6 insurrection and Trump’s culpability

· Leave a Comment

One year after the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided over what happened that day and the degree to which former president Donald Trump bears responsibility for the assault, amid more universal signs of flagging pride in the workings of democracy at home, according to a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll.

Partisan divisions related both to the Jan. 6 assault and the 2020 presidential election color nearly every issue raised in the survey, from how much violence occurred at the Capitol that day to the severity of the sentences handed down to convicted protesters to whether President Biden was legitimately elected. Only on a question about injured law enforcement officers is there broad bipartisan agreement. CONTINUED

Dan Balz, Scott Clement & Emily Guskin, Washington Post

The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack