Survey Finds CCP Virus Unity, but Big-Issue Polarization Drives `Bipartisanship That Bankrupts Country
News Analysis
Americans are impressively united across political and ideological groups on the seriousness of the CCP virus crisis, even as the nation remains deeply polarized on major issues, a new national survey finds.
There is, however, a dangerous twist in an underlying bipartisanship among Americas political leadership thats rarely discussed in the mainstream media or acknowledged by most political leaders, according to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Ninety percent of 2,000 Americans interviewed at the end of March by More in Common agreed with the statement that “were all in this together” about the crisis sparked by the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
Deep unity was seen among respondents whether they identified as Democrats (91 percent), independents (89 percent), or Republicans (93 percent), as well as among those calling themselves traditional conservatives (97 percent), moderates (92 percent), and traditional liberals (95 percent).
More in Common is a New York-based nonprofit devoted to “building communities and societies that are stronger and more resilient to the forces of social fracturing and polarization.” The foundation also has offices in London, Berlin, and Paris.
“Weve seen a dramatic increase in peoples sense of solidarity, they feel that they are less polarized than ever. On the other hand, the reality is that things havent really changed all that much,” Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told a digital panel on the surveys results hosted April 18 by FixUS. FixUS is a project of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Rauch says he doubts the unity related to combating the virus will last.
Similarly, Princeton University political science professor Nolan McCarty told the panel that “one of the things that is often missed in these discussions is polarization across states.
“Because many states have become much more partisan in terms of governmental control, were at a moment when the partisan and ideological divisions across states are, at least as far as I can measure, at an all-time high.”
Large pluralities among liberals (40 percent) and conservatives (50 percent) in the survey said they have “nothing in common” with each other, McCarty added.
Such polarization is often described as the culprit producing a paralyzing partisan gridlock that prevents progress in the nations capital.
Collusive Bipartisanship
Lee, who was elected in the Tea Party revolt that fueled massive Republican gains in Congress in 2010, has a unique “take” on the issues of partisanship, polarization, and bipartisanship.
“What we often see in Washington and very often what people like to complain about and reflexively attribute to partisan gridlock is neither partisan nor, strictly speaking, fairly describable as gridlock,” Lee told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.
“We dont get to be $23 trillion, or $24 trillion or $25 trillion, whatever it is that we are now in debt, without a whole lot of Republicans and a whole lot of Democrats agreeing to do that,” he said.
Lee attributes the situation to “an excessive inclination on the part of many in Congress to engage in bipartisan collusion to expand the role of government, and of the federal government in particular, in a way that is never going to satisfy most Americans.”
The problem, as Lee sees it, is that, as this collusive bipartisanship pushes government more deeply into the everyday affairs of most Americans, it also cultivates ideological polarization, while prompting decisions that complicate the countrys increasingly dire financial condition.
The Heritage Foundations Robert Moffit agrees, telling The Epoch Times that “Lee is correct when he says that the deep divisions in Congress are not merely divisions between Democrats and Republicans, but rather a deepening polarization among the American people themselves.”
Moffit, who served in the Reagan administration and on Capitol Hill before joining the conservative think tank as a senior fellow in domestic policy studies, added that the division exists “on a whole series of issues, including social and economic policy, health care policy, the role of the federal government. There are even deeper and profoundly sensitive questions such as the value of human life, both at the beginning and at the end of life.”
Moffits Heritage colleague, attorney Hans von Spakovsky, told The Epoch Times that “members of both parties are resRead More From Source
