{"id":8604,"date":"2018-05-11T09:47:23","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T16:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=8604"},"modified":"2018-05-11T10:22:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T17:22:00","slug":"new-polls-show-anti-trump-isnt-enough-to-beat-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/05\/11\/new-polls-show-anti-trump-isnt-enough-to-beat-gop\/","title":{"rendered":"New Polls Show Anti-Trump Isn\u2019t Enough to Beat GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"field-wrapper-attribution\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-date field--type-datestamp field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\"><span class=\"pb-timestamp\"><span class=\"date-display-single\">May 10, 2018\u00a0<\/span><\/span>by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Common Dreams<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-subtitle field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<h4>Recent survey data bolsters concerns that Democrats&#8217; feeble partisan maneuvers are ill-suited to ousting the Republicans from power<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-authors\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix inline-fields\">\n<div class=\"grouping-prefix\">by\u00a0<span class=\"pb-byline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/norman-solomon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Norman Solomon<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"shr_canvas2\" class=\"shareaholic-canvas shareaholic-ui shareaholic-resolved-canvas ng-scope\" data-app-id=\"6840209\" data-app-id-name=\"views_article_above_content\" data-app=\"share_buttons\" data-title=\"New Polls Show Anti-Trump Isn\u2019t Enough to Beat GOP\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2018\/05\/10\/new-polls-show-anti-trump-isnt-enough-beat-gop\" data-summary=\"\">\n<div class=\"ng-scope share_buttons\" translate=\"no\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-container shareaholic-ui no-print flat block horizontal mini\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-wrapper shareaholic-ui\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-animation-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-buttons-heading custom\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"ng-binding ng-scope\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shareaholic-share-button-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"discourse-comments-link\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-article-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/views-article\/screen_shot_2018-05-10_at_8.30.26_am.png?itok=B0fs3xiS\" alt=\"\" width=\"955\" height=\"500\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-main-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p><em>House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif, speaks in Berryville, Va., Monday, July 24, 2017, to unveil the Democrats new agenda. From letf are, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. (Photo: AP\/Cliff Owen)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With six months to go before the midterm election, new national polls are showing that the Democratic Party\u2019s much-touted momentum to gain control of the House has stalled out. The latest numbers tell us a lot about the limits of denouncing Donald Trump without offering much more than a return to the old status quo.<\/p>\n<p>Under the headline \u201cDemocrats\u2019 2018 Advantage Is Nearly Gone,\u201d CNN\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/05\/09\/politics\/cnn-poll-generic-ballot-narrows\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/05\/09\/politics\/cnn-poll-generic-ballot-narrows\/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEuhZd7VK4ZyTZSkcA38nfQTKAARg\">reported<\/a><span data-term=\"goog_1656953950\">Wednesday<\/span>\u00a0that nationwide polling found \u201cthe generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten\u201d \u2014\u201cwith the Democrats\u2019 edge over Republicans within the poll\u2019s margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With so many gerrymandered districts as well as widespread voter-ID laws and other GOP-engineered voter suppression, Democrats will need a substantial margin in vote totals to prevent Republicans from retaining a majority in the House of Representatives. (The prospects are worse in the Senate, where Democrats are defending a lopsided number of seats this year.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"pullquote\">&#8220;The Democratic Party is still dominated by elected officials and power brokers who appear to be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7F5mW6B2WEw&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v%3D7F5mW6B2WEw%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGqd78363gvus8aM3RfT0tZRPQrzQ\">deeply worried<\/a>\u00a0that a future progressive upsurge of political engagement could loosen\u2014or even end\u2014their corporate-funded grip on the party.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While \u201c47 percent of registered voters say they back the Democratic candidate in their district, 44 percent back the Republican,\u201d according to CNN. \u201cVoters also are divided almost evenly over whether the country would be better off with the Democrats in control of Congress (31 percent) or with the GOP in charge (30 percent). A sizable 34 percent\u2014including nearly half of independent voters (48 percent)\u2014say it doesn&#8217;t matter which party controls Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The CNN survey comes on the heels of other grim national polling.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-election-millennials\/exclusive-democrats-lose-ground-with-millennials-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1I10YH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-election-millennials\/exclusive-democrats-lose-ground-with-millennials-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1I10YH&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHbjsL_F2smO1gy6gtfrr-cf37Uow\">Released<\/a>\u00a0last week, a Reuters poll concluded that \u201centhusiasm for the Democratic Party is waning among millennials.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe online survey of more than 16,000 registered voters ages 18 to 34 shows their support for Democrats over Republicans for Congress slipped by about 9 percentage points over the past two years, to 46 percent overall,\u201d\u00a0<em>Reuters<\/em>\u00a0reported. \u201cAnd they increasingly say the Republican Party is a better steward of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Young people overwhelmingly supported Bernie Sanders during his 2016 campaign for president. With their votes in Democratic Party primaries and caucuses two years ago, the young showed that they want truth about the destructive effects of corporate power\u2014and forceful action against its manifestations, whether economic injustice or climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the latest generation of adults is negative about the demagogue in the White House. But most Democratic leaders aren\u2019t offering a clear and compelling alternative. As Reuters put it, \u201cAlthough nearly two of three young voters polled said they do not like Republican President Donald Trump, their distaste for him does not necessarily extend to all Republicans or translate directly into votes for Democratic congressional candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Six months ago, the independent report\u2014titled\u00a0<strong><em>Autopsy: The Democratic Party in Crisis<\/em><\/strong>\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/democraticautopsy.org\/young-people-and-the-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/democraticautopsy.org\/young-people-and-the-party\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHwdYboL-4drFQ4iqCFtfN-XpQ4aQ\">pointed out<\/a>\u00a0that young people \u201cincreasingly want politics to be for something profoundly positive rather than just against Republicans.\u201d As a member of the task force that worked on the report, I was struck by how the top echelon of the Democratic Party keeps trying to insulate itself from\u2014and fend off\u2014 the tremendous energy that mobilized behind Sanders during the primaries.<\/p>\n<p>In short, the Democratic Party is still dominated by elected officials and power brokers who appear to be\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7F5mW6B2WEw&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v%3D7F5mW6B2WEw%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGqd78363gvus8aM3RfT0tZRPQrzQ\">deeply worried<\/a>\u00a0that a future progressive upsurge of political engagement could loosen\u2014or even end\u2014their corporate-funded grip on the party. As the\u00a0<em>Autopsy<\/em>\u00a0report\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/democraticautopsy.org\/executive-summary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/democraticautopsy.org\/executive-summary\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsJHQEyJSO8gcxcPBgG3abkkLMTw\">said<\/a>, \u201cEmerging sectors of the electorate are compelling the Democratic Party to come to terms with adamant grassroots rejection of economic injustice, institutionalized racism, gender inequality, environmental destruction and corporate domination. Siding with the people who constitute the base isn\u2019t truly possible when party leaders seem to be afraid of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7F5mW6B2WEw\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Sanders campaign was \u201cmostly propelled by millennials,\u201d the report noted, and the campaign \u201cturned what conventional wisdom had pegged as an obscure, 2-percent campaign into a photo finish with the establishment\u2019s preferred candidate. Once the nomination was settled, much of this grassroots energy dissipated as the Clinton campaign declined to adopt positions like single-payer health care and free public college that resonated with young voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those kinds of positions have gained some traction in the aftermath of 2016, but they still have a steep climb in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/articles\/will-democrats-live-up-to-their-name\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.truthdig.com\/articles\/will-democrats-live-up-to-their-name\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFiO3Kq4M59n4r70O0wfrjgvEXe7g\">hidebound<\/a>\u00a0upper reaches of Democratic Party power. For the people atop the party, it\u2019s so much easier and more comfortable to selectively denounce Trump\u2014while opposing genuinely progressive agendas that would really challenge income inequality or take aim at the warfare state\u2019s bloated budget or cross up the big donors who funnel vast quantities of money into the party.<\/p>\n<p>With the world facing the dual threats of climate change and nuclear holocaust, it\u2019s no exaggeration when Noam Chomsky\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ineteconomics.org\/perspectives\/blog\/noam-chomsky-on-the-populist-groundswell-u-s-elections-the-future-of-humanity-and-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.ineteconomics.org\/perspectives\/blog\/noam-chomsky-on-the-populist-groundswell-u-s-elections-the-future-of-humanity-and-more&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1526037952723000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGSHgehnY50LzE4ppKP5aaDD6iYCw\">describes<\/a>\u00a0the present-day Republican Party as \u201cthe most dangerous organization in human history.\u201d The latest national polling reflects the reality that Democrats\u2019 feeble partisan maneuvers are ill-suited to ousting the Republicans from power. Methodical grassroots organizing will be necessary\u2014to bring down the GOP\u2019s deranged leadership, and to defeat the forces of corporate power and militarism that continue to hold sway at the top of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p><em>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field-wrapper-fundraising\" class=\"field-wrapper content-container clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-prompt clearfix\">\n<div class=\"cta-content-block-one\">\n<div class=\"card\">\n<div class=\"card-block\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-author-profile field--type-entityreference field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div id=\"cdreams-profile-6581\" class=\"cdreams-profile teaser author\">\n<div class=\"content clearfix grid-size-16\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-profile-img field--type-image field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/norman-solomon\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_bio_small\/public\/norman_solomon.jpg?itok=iLRYglTj\" alt=\"Norman Solomon\" width=\"65\" height=\"65\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-desc field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/author\/norman-solomon\"><strong>Norman Solomon<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is co-founder of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/rootsaction.org\/\">RootsAction.org<\/a>\u00a0and founding director of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.accuracy.org\/\">Institute for Public Accuracy<\/a>. His books include\u00a0\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/047179001X?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=commondreams-20&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creativeASIN=047179001X\">War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0977825345?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=commondreams-20&amp;linkCode=xm2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creativeASIN=0977825345\">Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America&#8217;s Warfare State<\/a>&#8220;.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 10, 2018\u00a0by Common Dreams Recent survey data bolsters concerns that Democrats&#8217; feeble partisan maneuvers are ill-suited to ousting the Republicans from power by\u00a0Norman Solomon House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif, speaks in Berryville, Va., Monday, July 24, 2017, to unveil the Democrats new agenda. From letf are, Sen&#8230;. <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2018\/05\/11\/new-polls-show-anti-trump-isnt-enough-to-beat-gop\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8604"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8607,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8604\/revisions\/8607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}