America may be a divided country, but the American people overwhelmingly want Congress and the President to do one thing in the coming year — work together.
That is the finding of a post-election survey of the nation’s electorate conducted by The Ripon Society. The survey was conducted November 30th through December 2nd and is being published in this special year-end edition of The Ripon Forum.
“Fully ninety-five percent (95%) of voters say they want the President and Congress to work together more closely to solve important problems facing this country, including eighty-six percent (86%) of voters who “strongly” support this concept,” write Ed Goeas and Brian Nienaber of The Tarrance Group, which conducted the survey.
“This is a strong indicator that voters have grown weary of divisive rhetoric and partisan squabbling. They want to see a different tone and tenor as well as real progress on the major issues facing the country.”
Among the poll’s major findings:
– COVID-19 (56%) and the economy/jobs (42%) were identified by voters as being “the most important issue,” followed by the budget/debt (17%), illegal immigration (15%), climate change (13%), and infrastructure improvements (11%).
– Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters think the federal government has not done enough to support the economy during the pandemic, including a majority of voters (51%) who strongly believe this to be the case.
– More than seven in ten voters (71%) say they know someone diagnosed with COVID-19, and almost that same number of voters (66%) favor a nationwide mask mandate.
– More than three-fourths of voters (78%) support the sentiment that we are all in this together and we have a responsibility to each other versus just 14% of voters who believe their personal freedom is more important than the greater public good.
“Voters want solutions that will help the economy and improve their quality of life,” Goeas and Nienaber write. “They do not want solutions that will bring about more highly charged partisan bickering.”
In addition to the post-election survey, the latest edition of The Ripon Forum also includes an essay by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio on the future of the Republican Party and the “patriotic, pro-worker” coalition that, he says, is emerging in the wake of the election.
“November’s historic turnout suggests the political coalitions that constitute our two-party system are once again shifting,” the senior Senator from Florida writes. “To seize the realignment, we cannot simply fall back on decades-old policy white papers. We must instead embrace a pro-American capitalism – one that promotes the common good, as opposed to one that prioritizes Wall Street and Beijing.”
Other authors and essays featured in the latest edition of the Forum include:
– Bill Hoagland of the Bipartisan Policy Center — examining the broken budget process through the eyes of Ebenezer Scrooge in an essay aptly named for the holidays, “The Ghosts of Budgets Past, Present & Future.”
– Oakland University (MI) Professors David Dulio & John Klemanski — writing about President Trump’s repeat victory in the symbolic home of Reagan Democrats in an essay entitled, “Why Macomb Stayed Red.”
– Muhlenberg University (PA) Professor Christopher Borick — writing about Joe Biden’s victory in another county that is considered a bellwether of the country in an essay entitled, “Why Northampton Turned Blue.”
– Lee Drutman of New America and J. Christian Adams of the Public Interest Legal Foundation — writing in support of and opposition to new federal election standards.
Also, in a Special Report entitled “The New Guard,” Kyle Chance, Kyle Schultz, and Autumn Reed of The Ripon Society profile 10 members of the newly formed GOP “Freedom Force” who knocked off incumbent House Democrats this year. And in the latest Ripon Profile, NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer discusses the message of this year’s election and his goals for 2022.
As with every edition of The Ripon Forum, we hope you find this edition interesting and informative, and encourage you to write us with any questions you may have.
Lou Zickar
Editor of The Ripon Forum
louzickar@riponsociety.org