Is the United States moving toward civil war? Respondents to a survey think so. (Dave Workman)
Is the United States on the verge of civil war?
According to a new survey – the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll—67 percent of the people think so. Things are so bad, according to the Washington Examiner, that “political division is likely to make the upcoming 2020 presidential race the nastiest in modern history.”
In a news release from Georgetown University, a majority of Americans think racial, political and class divisions are deteriorating. Nobody seems able to agree on the source of all the incivility, the statement noted.
To underscore the situation, the Georgetown statement explained, “Majorities of Republicans say Democratic political leaders, social media, large newspapers, CNN, and MSNBC are very responsible for our political division. Meanwhile, majorities of Democrats say Republican political leaders, social media, Fox News, wealthy special interests, and President Trump are very responsible. Independents single out just two actors as very responsible for divisive political discourse – social media and President Trump.”
According to the Daily Caller, “The survey showed that voters are not just dissatisfied with politics, they are angry. While Democratic dislike of President Donald Trump is hardening, Republicans show a similar dislike of the crop of leftist Democratic candidates vying for their party’s presidential nomination.”
This might be all academic except for some interesting tidbits of information that may, or may not, depending upon one’s viewpoint, have anything to do with the subject.
The Crime Prevention Research Center, founded by author/researcher Dr. John Lott, recently updated its estimate of the number of concealed carry licenses now in the 50 states. There are now more than 18.6 million active carry licenses, and that number does not include the growing legions of armed citizens in the states with “constitutional carry” where no license or permit is required to carry openly or concealed.
At the recent Gun Rights Policy Conference in Phoenix, there were two panels on state legislative affairs and federal affairs briefing, plus an interesting panel whose discussion was headlined, “Culture Drives Gun Politics.” Delivering opening remarks at the weekend conference, Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, told the audience that the war against gun rights “has gone nuclear.”
On Capitol Hill Wednesday, the political battle over Democrat efforts to impeach President Donald Trump escalated dramatically when Republican House members stormed into a room where a closed-door impeachment inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee was being chaired by California Congressman Adam Schiff. He suspended the proceeding and left the room.
It’s this sort of thing that probably contributed to the low esteem voters showed politicians in their reactions to questions on the Georgetown survey. According to the Georgetown statement, “voters are tired of politicians in Washington who work with the powerful special interests instead of standing up to them (90% agree, including 73% strongly agree).”
However, there are some stunning inconsistencies. The survey also revealed, “More than eight in 10 voters believe “compromise and common ground should be the goal for political leaders” (87% agree, including 64% strongly agree) and that they are “tired of leaders compromising their values and ideals and want leaders who will stand up to the other side” (84% agree, including 63% strongly agree).”
So, which is it? Do voters want to see politicians compromise, or take stubborn positions? It’s not possible to do both.
If the incivility continues ramping up, it may soon be impossible to do either.
