A new survey by the center-left Center for American Progress Action Fund has found that a focus on the Trump regime’s corruption in particular, and Republican corruption in general, may boost Democratic chances at the polls in November. Another problem for the GOP, the survey shows, is that the majority of Americans are perturbed by Republican-engineered tax cuts that gave the lion’s share of the benefits to the wealthy.
Undertaken by GBA Associates, the July 2-5 survey polled 1,200 registered voters in 48 Republican-held districts nationwide. On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats lead Republicans by 4 points, 46–42 percent. That is a big shift compared with the past two election cycles when Republican candidates in those 48 districts averaged 14 points over their Democratic opponents. Among survey respondents, Democrats and Republicans are about equal in their support for their parties’ candidates, but Democrats lead with Independent voters by 11 points.
Another key finding: By an overall margin of 54-46 percent, these voters see the GOP as the party of corruption and view it as more corrupt than Democrats. One reason for that wider gap than found in the generic ballot? Sixty percent of independents say Republicans are more corrupt, and even 27 percent of Republican voters agree.
As has become apparent even to a few of the previously blinkered backers of Trump, corruption is not just accepted by the regime, not just actively encouraged, but also modeled. Trump and his family show imitators how it’s done.
A related item in the survey is the attitude of most voters about the Republican-passed tax cuts. By a margin of 55–45 percent, voters say it upsets them more when politicians “spend taxpayer money on perks for themselves” than when they “make policies that help their big campaign donors.” This, as GBA Associates point out, “highlights how examples of self-dealing and wasteful spending of the sort that Scott Pruitt stands accused of can generate more visceral reactions among voters, particularly among white non-college voters (59–41 percent) and undecided Congressional voters (63–37).”
“The fact that you have these recurring Cabinet scandals, the fact that it keeps happening over and over again, it registers,” said Jesse Lee, spokesman for the CAP [...] “People understand it’s been taken to a new level. There’s no check on it anymore. Trump isn’t pushing back on Congress to keep it under control. Congress isn’t pushing back on Trump.”
And finally, 75 percent of respondents told pollsters that it was “serious” or “very serious” that 53 Republicans in Congress would “get an average tax cut of over $200,000 each from a single loophole they added to the tax bill at the last minute.”
Less than four months away from the midterm elections, these are all encouraging numbers. But turning them from hopefulness into real-life success at the polls requires good framing.
Democratic candidates have an immense reservoir of examples they can choose from that will mesh with the views of the majority of surveyed voters. It is that self-dealing corruption, the kind that enriches the already wealthy, which seems to have the most traction. Here are a few examples from a very long list:
- Republican backing of payday lenders by increasing borrowers’ costs by $6 billion a year;
- Republican help for coal companies that jack up consumers’ electricity costs nearly $12 billion a year
- Republican support for yet another round of jaw-dropping tax breaks to wealthy donors and corporations while threatening (or promising) giant cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
- Republican approving regulatory changes that will cost workers $1.2 billion in overtime pay and $17 billion in annual retirement savings
As noted, that’s a short list.
It should also be noted that while attacking Republican rot may spur more Americans to vote for Democrats, candidates should also offer proposals for leading us away from corruption. But this approach should be combined with constructive plans across a range of societal issues. A Democratic deal with Americans can be solidified with positive proposals in health care, education, clean energy and environment, and the economy that offer a positive future instead of the dystopian kleptocracy the Republicans are well on the way to creating.