I think I’m writing this diary primarily because I almost cried when I was at the dentist today, but more on that later. Democracy For America (DFA) runs monthly Presidential Pulse Polls, they ran one in July:
From June 27 - July 17, 2019, Democracy for America members voted for up to three favorite potential candidates & top issues in DFA's 2020 Presidential Pulse Poll.
Seeing the Green New Deal (GND) and Medicare For All at the very top of the list reminded me of my frustrations with current Democratic Party leadership. The results in this poll are consistent with other polling, such as one conducted in April by CNN.
Most people polled said it is somewhat or very important that the Democratic candidate for president in 2020 support party priorities like stricter gun laws, tuition-free public college, impeaching President Donald Trump, paying reparations to slaves' descendants, and restoring voting rights for all convicted felons.
But two issues stood out at the top.
Ninety-six percent of respondents want whichever Democrat runs for the White House to support "taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change."
In the second spot, 91 percent want the candidate to back "providing health insurance for all Americans through the government, a plan sometimes called 'Medicare for All.'"
=> Conclusion #1: Folks who vote for Democrats care a ton about the climate crisis and MFA
Both of these polls focused on Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters. We are the people who are encouraged — or shamed — into coming out to the poll booths during every election to vote for the candidates that have a little D at the end of their name. When we do, we bestow power to those candidates, and the deal is that they in turn are supposed to fight for the issues that they promised to fight for during the campaign. That’s how it works, right? But something is broken, that is not how things seem to be working these days.
Where is #Unity from Democratic leadership around the climate crisis, the TOP ISSUE that ALMOST 100% of Democratic voters care about? I’m talking to you Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Tom Perez |
BTW, I have come to realize that talking about GND has become a bit of a euphemism, such as “making a xerox” or “google it”. GND is often used as a reference to “the climate crisis”. DFA voters aren’t necessarily gaga over the GND per se, they chose that option because it was the choice that represents “the climate crisis”.
Take a look at the graphic above again. Notice that the supporters who care the most about GND are 1) Sanders supporters, 2) Warren supporters, and 3) Harris supporters. I happen to know that there are many here who are fans of one or more of these candidates. Perhaps I will surprise some of you because I what I want to do in this diary is highlight how much we have in common.
The DFA poll results are interesting in that you can interact with them, You can select and deselect various candidates and issues to see what the results might look like if various options had been taken away. So I played around with the results a bit.
Clik here to view.
When all other issues have been deselected, the results for Green New Deal are:
1) Bernie Sanders: 42.77% 2) Elizabeth Warren 28.70% 3) Kamala Harris: 10.41%
=> Conclusion #2: supporters of Sanders, Warren, and Harris ALL care about the climate crisis
Clik here to view.
When all other issues have been deselected, the results for Medicare For All are:
1) Bernie Sanders: 49.70% 2) Elizabeth Warren 22.39% 3) Kamala Harris: 8.37%
=> Conclusion #3: supporters of Sanders, Warren, and Harris ALL care about MFA
The last two conclusions are also summarized nicely in the following graphic. Notice how much support for the Green New Deal and Medicare For All exists among supporters of various candidates. These are not just issues that Sanders supporters care about; these are issues that most Democratic voters care about, even those who don’t prefer Sanders. Even Biden supporters want Medicare For All and a Green New Deal, God bless them.
96% of Dem voters support GND. 91% of Dem voters support MFA. I am not making this up.
Clik here to view.
Looking at the results, I also noticed something else. If I added together the initial Green New Deal and MFA numbers given at the top of the diary for each candidate, the results are:
1) Bernie Sanders: 92.47%, 2) Elizabeth Warren 51.09%, and 3) Kamala Harris: 18.78% supporters.
Over 90% of Sanders supporters have indicated that these issues are a top priority for them. This resonates with me as a Sanders supporter. The climate crisis and MFA are my top two issues for 2020 ... it looks like they are also the top two issues of MOST other Sanders supporters.
Warren and Harris folks also share these views to some degree, but they appear to be have more differences of opinion among themselves about what the top issues facing our country are. These issues are only the top issues for about half of all Warren supporters, and only for about 20% of all Harris supporters. I was curious to learn about the other issues that these groups might care about, possibly more strongly. So I played around with the DFA results a bit more.
Clik here to view.
When all other candidates have been deselected, the results for Elizabeth Warren are:
1) Green New Deal:: 22.62% 2) Medicare For All 19.20% 3) Impeach Trump 7.38%
Clik here to view.
When all other candidates have been deselected, the results for Kamala Harris are:
1) Green New Deal: 20.17% 2) Medicare For All 15.63% 3) Impeach Trump: 9.39%
=> Conclusion #4: Warren and Harris supporters care a ton about the climate crisis TOO
Frankly this one surprised me a bit, but in a good way. Collectively, Sanders supporters, Warren supporters, and Harris supporters all agree that the climate crisis and Medicare For All are the top two issues facing this country. This is good news, because it is easier to take action when we agree on the problems. However, this reality also makes the actions of Democratic leadership around the climate crisis all the more confusing to me. It’s almost as if Democratic leaders do not care about what Democratic voters, the people they are supposed to work for right?, actually want.
I see lots of energy around trying to impeach Trump, which is only the third most important issue overall. Where is the energy to address the climate crisis and the healthcare needs of American, two issues that Trump will certainly not make a priority in his campaign.
Where is #Unity from Democratic leadership around the climate crisis, the TOP ISSUE that ALMOST 100% of Democratic voters care about? I’m talking to you Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Tom Perez |
Finally, About my visit to the dentist …
Long story short, I was making pleasant chit-chat with the office staff at 8:00 am in the morning, something about not being a morning person. Then I mentioned that the issue was that I was staying up too late, working on a project that I was increasingly obsessed with. Then I mentioned that it was about the climate crisis, that if nothing is done humans are going to become literally extinct in 50 years or less. Their faces were blank but friendly. I said, ”The MSM isn’t talking about this, I probably sound like a crazy person for saying this but it’s true! Do I sound like a crazy person?” They quickly said no, and their faces said it too, but at that point I got a bit misty.
I am terrified that humanity is going to go extinct, possibly within my lifetime.
I am terrified that my daughter and others in her generation are going to die prematurely because our planet will no longer support human life. Did you know that many younger people have stopped having children because they share this fear too?
It is so strange that the MSM is so quiet on this, and if I talk about it to strangers, I kind of sound like a nut.
And yet the DNC — led by Tom Perez, at the encouragement of Barack Obama, who I voted for twice - is refusing to hold a debate that is 100% focused on the climate crisis.
Rome is about to burn, and Nero is taking fiddling lessons.
Le Fin