In the last few weeks I was inspired to have my firm, Liberty Government Affairs (LGA), team up with Gravis Marketing, a well-respected polling firm, to poll issues of importance to the liberty movement. The results were encouraging and show that the largely ignored issues in the D.C Swamp of limiting the power of the federal government, cutting taxes and ending foreign entanglements are very popular with Republican, Democrat and Independent likely voters this fall.
The results of the LGA/Gravis Sept. 5-6, 2018 poll of 2,117 registered, likely voters show that likely voters want candidates to promote the ideas of liberty.
I wanted to commission this poll because Americans are saturated with information about Trump’s latest tweet storm, the most recent news about the Mueller investigation and palace intrigue at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It is mind numbing to listen to the same issues debated on cable news over and over again. It is clear that the issues of immigration, tax cuts, love or hate of Trump and Obamacare are already baked into the polls. I wanted to know about issues that could still move undecided and persuadable voters on ending the 16 year old war in Afghanistan, implementing federalism in marijuana laws and the general hatred of Washington.
The first data set in the LGA/Gravis poll that jumped out is the overwhelming disapproval of Trump’s job performance by Democrats at 78.6% while Republicans approve at 84.9% clip. Independents are breaking 47% in the “strongly disapprove” category. Republicans are the only ones strongly supporting President Trump this fall.
An aggravating factor with Congress is the bipartisan hatred of a Congress run by Republicans. While Trump gets a thumbs up from 84.9% of likely registered voters, Republicans in Congress only get 45.2% support. In fact, over 50% of Republicans don’t support the Republican controlled Congress. Add in the massive disapproval coming from Independents (68.5% disapprove to 22.1% approve) and Democrats (78.3% disapprove to 17.2% approve) and you have a potential train wreck for Republicans this fall. We all know that Republicans are in some trouble right now and this poll could provide smart candidates a roadmap out of the political abyss.
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What this poll should prove to politicians is that they need to start talking more like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and less like the establishment leaders in Congress who stand for little and fight for less. The poll indicated strong support for ending the war in Afghanistan. Support for legislation called the STATES Act that would kick decisions on the legality of medical and adult use marijuana to the states. Of course, neither of these issues has been supported by the Republican leadership in the House or Senate.
The best example of how cowardly this Congress has acted is when they broke a longstanding promise to the voters to fully repeal, not repeal and replace, Obamacare. It is no wonder that Republican voters are disappointed with a Congress that has delivered not much more than a tax cut that should have been larger. Spending continues to be out of control and the appetite for sabotaging Obamacare is non-existent. When President Trump sent over a package of “recissions” to stop spending on useless programs, the Republican Congress ran away from the issue. It is no wonder that Republican likely voters don’t trust a Congress run by Republicans.
On the LGA/Gravis polling question of “Do you support or oppose politicians who seek to reduce the size of the federal government, lower federal taxes and end continuing conflicts abroad like Afghanistan?”: Democrats responded 24.8% opposed; 46.6% support; and, 28.7% were uncertain. When the media plays up socialist heroes like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren as the future of the Democratic Party, they ignore the fact that the liberty centered views of Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) poll very popular to self-identified Democratic likely voters.
The most interesting question in my eyes was a loaded one – “Do you approve or disapprove of a presidential pardon for Edward Snowden who exposed the federal government's warrantless wiretapping program and a number of programs that monitored data from American citizens without the citizens’ knowledge in violation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution?” Almost half of all those polled supported a pardon with only 37% opposed. When you think about the demonization of Snowden by President Barack Obama and congressional cowards who not dare defend his exposure of a massive government snooping program, these numbers are encouraging.
Americans do love liberty and those who promote it. Maybe some politicians will read this poll and realize that being for liberty is both morally right and politically beneficial. When the leaders in Washington embrace liberty centered ideals, we shall be able to promote a new mantra - Make America Free Again. This poll indicates that voters this fall yearn for candidates who will campaign for freedom.
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