With the prospect of new economy-wrecking, freedom-restricting lockdowns on the horizon, a new poll by Scott Rasmussen found that Democrats were sharply divided on the issue.
Less surprising, perhaps, is that the intra-party rift broke down according to demographic lines. Privileged, white progressives generally supported the Establishment’s decrees, while systemically-oppressed, black Democrats tended to be more suspicious.
Only 57% of Democrats, in total, felt that the lockdown restrictions were more helpful than harmful. While roughly two-thirds (65%) of white Democrats supported that position, black and other non-white party members were evenly split, Rasmussen reported.
Likewise, on the matter of whether government indefinitely retaining its unconstitutional powers was a concern, only 39% of white Democrats said they were worried, but 64% of black Democrats were.
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The growing rift may pose a broader problem for leftists, believed to comprise about 20% of the overall voting population, who rely heavily on identity-politics to build a majority-winning coalition.
The anti-Establishment appeal of former President Donald Trump resonated strongly with voters of color, who applauded his support for criminal-justice reform and historically black universities.
Meanwhile the disconnect over the lockdowns was revealed as Democrats’ appeals to the greater, collectivist good broke down in the summer of 2020. Following outrage over George Floyd‘s death, many blue states were forced temporarily to abandon their social-distancing policies to accommodate weeks of anti-police race-riots.
Since seizing power in the 2020 election, Democrat party elites’ effort to maintain the support of their disparate voting bloc has been something of a catch-22.
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They have found themselves awkwardly pivoting between what they deem, on one hand, to be minority-friendly messages, such as “defund the police,” and insisting, at the same time, that citizens abide unquestioningly by their draconian pandemic diktats.
Conservatives, who comprise roughly 40% of overall voters, are much more unified in their opposition to the overreaching mandates of the Biden administration and other Democrat leaders.
More than three-fourths (76%) of Republicans and a majority (51%) of independents said they felt the lockdowns were predominantly harmful.
