What Americans Want and Expect from Party Leaders
Here’s a summary of the key findings from the Pew Research Center article:
Overall Tolerance for Cross-Party Agreement:
* A majority of both Republicans (67%) and Democrats (72%) believe their party should be accepting of elected officials who agree with the opposing party on some important issues.
Views on Negative Rhetoric & Violence:
* Most Republicans (56%) and Democrats (55%) believe their party should not be accepting of officials who call members of the opposing party “evil.”
* There’s overwhelming consensus (70% of Republicans, 68% of Democrats) that their party should not accept officials who support groups advocating violence against the other party.
Divisions Within the Republican Party:
* Republicans are split on whether to accept officials who openly criticize Donald Trump (50% say no, 49% say yes).
Partisan Strength & Tolerance:
* Strong partisans (those with very strong party identification) are less likely to say their party should be accepting of officials who agree with the other party on issues. This suggests that those most deeply invested in their party are less tolerant of compromise.
In essence, the article suggests a surprising level of openness to some degree of cross-party agreement among the general public, but that this tolerance decreases among those with the strongest partisan beliefs. There’s also a strong rejection of violent rhetoric and support for violence against the opposing party.
