Backing for Three Principles Shifts Slightly

While support for the 10 Principles to Unite America remains steady and strong, the backing for three of the principles shifted slightly over the course of six nationwide public-opinion surveys conducted during the tumultuous period between June 2020 and January 2022.

The polls were conducted by Survey USA at regular intervals over the 18-month period.   Each of the first five surveys were of 1,500 voters.  The most recent survey polled 2,500 voters, adding up to a total sample size for the six surveys of 10,000 voters.

The biggest shift lifted #7 Government – At All Levels – Needs to Be Better At What It Does into a tie (with ongoing front-runner #6 Equal Rights For All, Responsibilities for All) for the highest level of strong agreement among the 10 principles.

Buoyed by increased support from Republicans that coincided with their losing the presidency, the principle enjoyed a spike of 6 percentage points from 76% to 82%.   The Republican interest in better government jumped from 70% with Donald Trump in the White House to 80% when Joe Biden took over, and has risen since to 84%.  Meanwhile, support for the ideal from Democrats (80%) and Independents (81%) remained strong.

The next biggest change was to #4 Give Us Liberty, Though Not to Harm Others, which dropped 5 percentage points from 69% strong agreement in June 2020 to 64% in January 2022.   This change was driven by another shift in Republican sentiment.  In the midst of ongoing unhappiness over mask-wearing and vaccinations, Republicans who strongly agreed with this principle slipped from 67% in June 2020 to 59% in January 2022.

The third largest change was to #2 Even With Our Flaws, We Have Much to Cherish, which gained 4 percentage points from 64% to 68% over the 18-month period.  In this case the change was driven by Democrats who in June 2020 were re-examining our past in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.  The percentage of Democrats who strongly agreed with this principle started off low at 58% but has since inched upward to 66%.   Even with that, their support remains a bit below Republicans, whose strong agreement with this principle stands at 74%.

The levels of strong agreement with the other seven principles in the succession of polls has remained steady, varying no more than 2% over the 18-month period.