‘70% Club’ Represents the True Ideal
Nov. 24, 2024
A Republican-dominated U.S. Congress will soon be grappling with how to move forward, with only the Senate filibuster to hold it in check.
Chances are, however, that whatever comes of the mandate they imagine will not match up with what most voters want. Over and over, in a succession of polls conducted by Our Common Purpose, the majority of Americans – Republicans included – say they wish for middle ground.
The most recent survey, taken in September, asked whether we as citizens and voters should encourage our elected representatives to: a) Drive a hard bargain by staying true to the political positions staked out by their side OR b) find middle ground that incorporates valid viewpoints from both sides.
The poll found 71% favored finding middle ground. That preference is shared by 67% of Republicans, along with 74% of Democrats and independents.
The result of this particular survey, conducted in September by Survey USA of 2,500 respondents whose demographics match the nationwide voting population, is akin to similar responses to similar questions asked in previous surveys.
The question in November 2021 was whether elected officials should hold to their party’s stance or engage in give-and-take with the other side. Of all respondents, 72% favored give-and-take. That included 66% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats and independents.
Say hello to the 70% Club. Seven out of every 10 Americans believe we should be looking for middle ground. Maybe it’s not entirely coincidental that about 70% of Congress votes for must-pass legislation, such as the federal budget, when at last their party leadership releases them from toeing the party line.
The survey in January 2023 took it up still another notch. The question posed in that go-around was whether on controversial legislation we should work it out or fight it out. A whopping 93% said work it out. The result was so resounding that one wondered if respondents could have taken “fight it out” in a literal sense. The high numbers though repeated themselves. In that same survey, 96% said Americans should work together toward achieving our overall objectives.
Without question, the good intentions that people express in abstract terms become exponentially more difficult when applied to specific issues, especially the tough ones. The differential between the two shows up in the portion of Our Common Purpose’s September survey dealing with the seemingly intractable issues we face.
The survey indicated that on a number of those issues, there’s plenty of room to find middle ground – if we go looking for it. But none of the preferred approaches to those issues, even expressed in generalities, come anywhere close to the 70% threshold. That kind of consensus doesn’t come automatically or naturally. It takes putting people in a room to work through the issues, add substance, and build support. In Congress, that means working across the aisle.
Last winter’s bipartisan bill on immigration was a textbook case of Congress doing what it needs to do. Had the pending legislation not been scuttled by Donald Trump, the vote on it could well have made it into the 70% Club. But as we know, that effort came to naught.
Now with Republicans soon to take control of both houses, Congress is about to revert to its bad habit of trying to pass – or to oppose – legislation entirely along party lines. Republicans will attribute their every action to the mandate they perceive, even if Trump didn’t even get a majority of the popular vote — finishing a whisker under 50%.
More importantly, their policy positions – in fact the policy positions of either side – do not fully reflect the will of the people.
The Our Common Purpose poll shows that while 60% of Republicans want to close the border, a plurality of all voters favor keeping it open with limits on the number of crossings. While 45% of Republicans would outlaw abortions, a plurality of all voters favor allowing them up to a certain point in time. While 44% of Republicans fall back on the 2nd Amendment, a near majority of all voters favor tighter gun controls. While 25% of Republicans deny climate change, a near majority of all voters want to phase in controls on carbon emissions and another sizeable group wants to enact them immediately.
These observations are not intended as a hit job on Republicans. Were Democrats returning to power, they would have the very same problem.
The poll shows that while 32% of Democrats would continue current border policies, a large majority of voters – including many Democrats – want to tighten things up. While 35% of Democrats want to lift all curbs on abortion, a majority of voters want at least some restrictions. While 42% of Democrats want immediate reductions in carbon emissions, a near majority of all voters want to phase in controls.
While both parties will retreat to their respective corners and come out fighting, common-sense Americans realize that neither party has a corner on what’s best for the country. The real ideal for the people is politicians working together to hammer out legislation that makes sense to most everyone, probably not to all the extremists, but to most everyone. And in so doing, put the results into the 70% Club.
In one survey after another done by Our Common Purpose, voters couldn’t be more consistent. Do they expect the country to fully match up with their own vision of how things should be? No, most don’t expect that. Are they willing to combine the view of others with their own? Yes, 78% say they are willing.
Once more, there’s that magic percentage.