The anniversary in March came and went without a peep.
It was in March of 1936 that George Gallup did his first public opinion survey and little did he know at the time the Frankenstein he was foisting on our political process but that will be left for another day and time.
One thing we do know is that at that moment in history had he asked the question, “What is the most urgent issue facing this nation?” The never would have found almost one out of five citizens expressing their fears over the state of the country’s Democracy. In those pre-World War II days as war clouds were mushrooming on the horizon, the United States of America was truly that...United. To be sure there were disgruntled members of the society but for the most part the Office of the President was respected and a majority felt the Democracy was not at risk.
Oh my how times have changed.
When a university out East did it’s usual bang-up job of taking the pulse of the country, the researchers at Quinnipiac found that the economy was still the number one concern, but there is third place behind immigration was the big D and there was no gender or ethic divide on the fear over the state of that Democracy.
Nineteen percent of the women and 18% of the males felt the Democracy was in peril and 20% of the Whites and 19% of the African-Americans concurred.
However, a deeper dive in the data uncovered a deeper divide based on education, age, and political leanings.
The most glaring divide was within the education voting sub group. Thirty percent of college grads feared for the future of the Democracy while half as many (14%) shared the concern from the ranks of those without a higher education. Make of that what you will.
On a positive note when asked if the Democracy today was working 46% said yes and 49% said no and frankly many felt the “no” number would be much larger.
By a 66%-31% margin selfdescribed Democrats felt it was working compared to a 62%-33% split among Republicans. Independents split it about down the middle at 45%-49%.
But on the more critical question about their concerns for the future, a huge disagreement was evident.
Now 32% of the Democrats are in that boat but only 5% of the Republicans are in there with the D’s. 19% of the Independents have apprehensions.
And the age gap is pretty obvious as only one out of 10 of those between 18 and 34 aren’t fretting compared to their senior fellow voters over the age of 65 who come in at almost three times the younger generation. Twentyseven percent are worried; 35-49 years olds are in at 16% and those 50-64? They are at 21%.
So you may be thinking at this juncture, so what?
First of all indicators point to a razor thin margin of victory for whomever wins the White House and those who worry about the Democracy could provide the margin of victory. That’s assuming that those who worry about the economy and immigration are already supporting Mr. Trump. So one theory suggests if the Independents and moderate Republican break toward Mr. Biden on the Democracy issue, he could win.
The polling found that 48% of the electorate believe the current president is better equipped to “preserve” the Democracy than the 44% who conclude the Democracy is in better hands with Mr. Trump.
Beyond the political presidential implications on where the Democracy is headed, more importantly the debate over this could be one of those turning point times in this country’s rich and checkered history, where what the electorate does now will have far reaching ramifications for the future.
And you might find this reassuring, today 68% at this moment do not believe the Democracy will not end in their lifetime.
The question for you all to ponder is, how long do you expect to live?
