" I think the new estimates online today will be particularly useful for campaigns and public affairs shops trying to identify where legislators may be out of step with their voters."
It really illustrates how Congress has gone off the rails.
The only reason these issues (where a strong majority supports a certain position) do NOT become law is that Congress is largely beholden to special interests and the MONEY/CAMPAIGN DONATIONS/PROMISES OF LOBBYING JOBS, which clearly have more influence than do millions of constituents, i.e., WE THE PEOPLE.
Proportional representation and expanding the House would be a good second step toward democratic reform but even more urgent is finding a way to reverse or modify Citizens United.
What's most interesting about the "Which party is most out of touch" question is that the answer, clearly, is "MY party!" The coasts are blue, the interior is red.
Thank you. This is very useful. I assume it would be hard to drill down to the level of state by state congressional maps (working in Wisconsin). Might it at least be possible to magnify these existing maps more to see full state outlines?
Woah the "out-of-touch" map is really surprising! It looks like it correlates with vote share - but in the opposite way than I imagined: the more people vote for a party, the more they rate it as out of touch.
Though I do wonder what "out-of-touch" necessarily means to the respondents. If they are themselves out-of-touch with "ordinary Americans" it might mean very different things. Who do they think are "ordinary Americans"?
Still, this is an interesting result. To me it implies that even the most dedicated partisans are not necessarily bought into the party line - that there are things both parties can do to realign themselves with the public. This explanation also aligns well with the consistently low ratings for each of the parties.
The DNC should pay attention, but the time for it to was about a decade ago at the latest.
Unhappiness with the DNC was rumbling long before Clinton became the candidate. As someone who has spent the last decade (begrudgingly) allied with the Democrats but not part of the party, it's been clear to me and others that the Democrats have been *putting up with* rather than *enthusiastically following* it's leadership since the Obama era.
At this point, I view the current leadership and structure as doomed. However, the Democrats having been forever the more disorganized of the two major parties gives them the ability to just let the local parties work independently to find something new.
I don't think the DNC has quite put together the fact that much of the 'General Distaste for Democrats' is in fact *a general distaste of the DNC*, and that it is them, not Democrats as a whole, that is distrusted.
" I think the new estimates online today will be particularly useful for campaigns and public affairs shops trying to identify where legislators may be out of step with their voters."
It really illustrates how Congress has gone off the rails.
The only reason these issues (where a strong majority supports a certain position) do NOT become law is that Congress is largely beholden to special interests and the MONEY/CAMPAIGN DONATIONS/PROMISES OF LOBBYING JOBS, which clearly have more influence than do millions of constituents, i.e., WE THE PEOPLE.
Proportional representation and expanding the House would be a good second step toward democratic reform but even more urgent is finding a way to reverse or modify Citizens United.
I don’t see KS on these maps as it is progressing as a long-shot potential “independent” Senate winner in November? Elliott please comment?
What's most interesting about the "Which party is most out of touch" question is that the answer, clearly, is "MY party!" The coasts are blue, the interior is red.
And it's absolutely true.
I didn't read the description closely enough (tiny print!). I'm wrong, but somehow I still think I'm right (and I'm not my husband🤔).
Thank you. This is very useful. I assume it would be hard to drill down to the level of state by state congressional maps (working in Wisconsin). Might it at least be possible to magnify these existing maps more to see full state outlines?
Woah the "out-of-touch" map is really surprising! It looks like it correlates with vote share - but in the opposite way than I imagined: the more people vote for a party, the more they rate it as out of touch.
Though I do wonder what "out-of-touch" necessarily means to the respondents. If they are themselves out-of-touch with "ordinary Americans" it might mean very different things. Who do they think are "ordinary Americans"?
Still, this is an interesting result. To me it implies that even the most dedicated partisans are not necessarily bought into the party line - that there are things both parties can do to realign themselves with the public. This explanation also aligns well with the consistently low ratings for each of the parties.
I'm a Strength In Numbers Pro subscriber and I'm curious to know how AIPAC polls in IL-10.
Do you have a particular question in mind? Fav/unfav? Something else?
The degree to which Democrats in blue areas think the Democratic Party is more out of touch is striking; the DNC should pay attention.
The DNC should pay attention, but the time for it to was about a decade ago at the latest.
Unhappiness with the DNC was rumbling long before Clinton became the candidate. As someone who has spent the last decade (begrudgingly) allied with the Democrats but not part of the party, it's been clear to me and others that the Democrats have been *putting up with* rather than *enthusiastically following* it's leadership since the Obama era.
At this point, I view the current leadership and structure as doomed. However, the Democrats having been forever the more disorganized of the two major parties gives them the ability to just let the local parties work independently to find something new.
I don't think the DNC has quite put together the fact that much of the 'General Distaste for Democrats' is in fact *a general distaste of the DNC*, and that it is them, not Democrats as a whole, that is distrusted.