‘So much worse than we thought’: GOP pollster on potential political violence in America

Republican pollster Neil Newhouse and former Obama pollster Joel Benenson speak with CNN’s John King about a poll they conducted that showed more than a quarter of Americans think it may be necessary to take up arms against the government and that most Americans think their government is corrupt and rigged against them. #CNN #News

75 comments

  1. All elected officials should wear NASCAR uniforms like the drivers so we can identify their corporate sponsors.
    -Robin Williams

    1. Many of them, particularly Republicans, and in that case ALL of them, would run out of space on said uniforms…

  2. Really if that happens it’s the end of the world society will fall apart but all our politicians suck on both sides we need term limits

  3. I would love to hear the other side, Tucker’s theory of the Great Replacement and how the teachers who groom child need to be armed to protect them against deranged people. But I value my brain too much.
    Please stop with the “both sides”. One is leaving in reality, the other in a different timeline.

    1. @Dakota the plumber sex Ed should be taught to teenagers because close minded parents like you will not. There is a huge increase in stds in teenagers and pregnancy. There are no young children being taught about sex. They are however being taught to judge others by race and religion. But are not allowed to learn actual history not the cherry picked one.

  4. As far as elections go gerrymandering ,voter suppression those might figure into voting mistrust.

    1. Or how about the fact that one-man-one -vote does not exist for presidential elections.
      For example in voting for the president:
      > each voter in California has one vote for president and in
      – Wyoming one vote is equal to 57 California votes
      – North Dakota one vote is equal to 44 California votes
      – Montana one vote is equal to 31 California votes.
      This how the country can end up with such incompetent grifters as Trump.
      BTW – In the period from 2000 – 2020 Republicans have won the popular vote for president only once in those 20 years and yet have controlled the presidency for 12 of those 20 years.
      SMH

    2. @Borvo

      Wrong. California gets one vote for each Senator and one vote for each Representative. Wyoming gets one vote for each Senator and one vote for each Representative.

  5. When you’ve enjoyed peace for so long, it’s easy to start taking it for granted and start craving for something else you definitely WON’T like.

    1. A little ironic considering America has bee at war with one country or another for 225 years out of its 243 year existence. Seventeen years of glorious peace.

    2. @Hypsyzygy even the Bible says, there will always be wars and rumors of wars, power!!!!!

    3. @Critical Think-Tank
      My point was about America over the span of my lifetime not about particular administrations So you perhaps agree that apart from those four years America is not at peace.

      Vietnamese are asian.
      So you dont want to count killings by bad pepole? a strange definition of peace.

      Perhaps you would further agree with me if you wanted to include abortion as being a firm of war.

      Glad we see eye to eye on somethings.

  6. The people can just stop buying gas, Walmart, shopping and call out sick for one week straight… they can see how much power the people have

  7. When you can convince the privileged that they are the aggrieved, that’s a powerful force to have at your command. Pretty disturbing how easily it’s been achieved.

    1. The other issue is when you convince the poor they can’t be anything else and it’s everyone else’s fault they’re poor (or middle class).

  8. This is no “TALKING TO THE OTHER SIDE”, when the other side is morally bankrupt and corrupt on basic human rights.

    1. @Darrell B mumbo jumbo muuumbo juuumbo. Jesus you say Jesus but do nothing he spoke of. Do you go to church…Jesus was against that. Jesus never threatened anyone if they didn’t agree with him with death.

  9. Well, the USA created a system that makes this situation possible. When ignoring lessons from history, science, other nations and other political and ideological systems it will have consequences.

    1. @Tay Tay No, though a free haven for many religious immigrants during the 1800:s, moving from persecution. Though, never was the idea to live in, or create a nation where only one religious power or ideal would rule politically. That was what they fled from in the first place. Regarding evangelicals this is a strange dicotomy – where today (liberal) freedom – the idea of the constitution – is replaced by something that more resembles the Catholic church before Luther and Huus (and later state churches).

      Perhaps (?) the US ethnocentric and nationalistic isolation – forcefully reinforced during the Cold war (Psychologically understandable) combined with the propaganda like (IMO) “American dream” created a notion that very much resembles European thought after the reformation. Where the surrounding world is underdeveloped, less knowing etc – thus the (only) explanation is that God has shown that some nations/people are above others.

      So, if God (in the sense of rationalisation), gives “us” rights, and rights over other that is only positive and a rationale (and excuse) for (any) behaviour that might otherwise seem as irrational or even (morally) wrong.

      If this isn’t true however, the foundations of the society could be questioned, the powers in be could be challenged, social uproar, revolutions (etc). There could be guilty consciences where actions at home could hurt others outside “our” nation – affecting the economy (in short terms), and “rights” taken away. As long as “God” (could be King, race or anything else) isn’t questioned the structures will be the same. Which also goes hand in hand with the classical conservative ideal, and thus “religion” (not belief) conveniently is a useful propaganda tool, rather than actually based on any (real) belief?

      Just my thoughts..What do you’ll think?

    2. @Aaron Stanley I don’t fully understand your reasoning. You are talking about Israel? And, do I understand that you point out that God might or might not exist?

      Church doesn’t equal religion, and religion (mostly) don’t equal belief, and nation states are a creation after the peace of Westphalia.

      Religion, as discussed here (as I see it) is the use of “religion”, in the same way as any other tool for creating a we and them, a rational, and for propaganda. This isn’t anything new.

      But, religion as a system of belief is something completely else.

      Regards

    3. America was a free haven for many religious immigrants during the 1800:s, moving from persecution. Though, never was the idea to live in, or create a nation where only one religious power or ideal would rule politically. That was what they fled from in the first place. Regarding evangelicals this is a strange dicotomy – where today (liberal) freedom – the idea of the constitution – is replaced by something that more resembles the Catholic church before Luther and Huus (and later state churches).

      Perhaps (?) the US ethnocentric and nationalistic isolation – reinforced during the Cold war (Psychologically understandable) combined with the propaganda like (IMO) “American dream” created a notion that very much resembles European thought after the reformation. Where the surrounding world is underdeveloped, less knowing etc – thus the (only) explanation is that God has shown that some nations/people are above others.

      So, if God (in the sense of rationalisation), gives “us” rights, and rights over other that is only positive and a rationale (and excuse) for (any) behaviour that might otherwise seem as irrational or even (morally) wrong.

      If this isn’t true however, the foundations of the society could be questioned, the powers and unjust structures could be challenged, the society could change its ideological compass away from conservatism (f.e/etc).

      There could be guilty consciences where actions at home could hurt others outside “our” nation – affecting the economy (in short terms), and “rights” (not basic rights) taken away. (Just look at oil f.e),

      As long as “God” (could be King, race or anything else) isn’t questioned the structures will be the same. Which also goes hand in hand with the classical conservative ideal, and thus “religion” (not belief) conveniently is a useful propaganda tool, rather than actually based on any (real) belief?

      Just my thoughts..What do you’ll think?

  10. As a woman I feel extremely aggrieved. I became a second-class citizen last week. So yes, the government is out to get me.

    1. @jim perkins you agree that in Connecticut you could have been aborted? Abortion is still very much legal here.

    2. @KIT Stone on a scale of world problems this issue is important but in our current events happening around the world not one that keeps me up.It was just never should been a federal government decision.Less government control more to states.I don’t see a issue..There will always be states that allow it..go there..problem solved..

    3. @Teresa Ellis in the states that won’t allow it it’s forced birth which is slavery. That’s a HUGE problem. Poor people cannot afford to travel.

    4. @Teresa Ellis I don’t care about your feelings about my wife’s body. I really don’t. I don’t care about your insomnia. Mind your own business.

  11. If you want people to trust the government, get money out of politics. The reason we don’t believe our politicians aren’t doing what we want is obvious. They are doing what their donors want, not their constituents. Look at where polling is. Ever since Citizen’s United, it’s been a downward spiral.

    1. ​@jeremiah the Song Rains If people would do what? I’m not sure you understand that American democracy depends on voters but half of the left rarely votes, if they ever do at all. Also, please learn how to use something called a period. It’s a handy tool for effective communication that only takes a single keystroke to achieve.

    2. @Scarter: I am old enough to remember, and I do remember, people saying decades before Citizen’s United that there was to much money in politics. Well, then, Citizen’s United became law & the problem has completely gotten worse; it was a downward spiral long before Citizen’s United became a reality — it has entirely become more obvious since Citizen’s United. The only way that Citizen’s United is…reasonably…ever going to be overturned is with a Constitutional amendment and that’s just not going to happen with a Congress that is still, more than a year after Trump legitimately lost his reelection, so obsequiously beholden to the neo-fascist ideological sewage of Trumpism.

      Vote Blue! 💙

  12. The questions aren’t specific enough. For instance : “do you think elections are free and fair” could be answered “no” by someone who thinks they aren’t because of gerrymandering and voter suppression as well as by someone who think it’s because of election fraud. The same answer but for very different reasons and in very different ways.

    1. 100%.. interpretation, scenario, timing, current news… all impact when a generic question is asked.
      External opinion: hold Fox et al accountable. They shouldn’t be allowed to spread bs and conspiracies to boost their $$$ ratings.
      News should be news!

  13. _”A Great Civilization is not Conquered from without, until it has Destroyed itself from within”._ – William Durand

  14. Fix it with ranked choice voting.

    That would give us the ability to vote for the candidate we want, regardless of party, without worrying that we are throwing away our votes. That let’s voters choose who they truly want, not just the lesser of two evils.

    1. @Tim Dybala you prefer to have someone else decide what policies you can vote for. The choice you have is the Dems, capitalist lackies or the Repubs, capitalist lackies. Remember both parties at some time in their history supported slavery, fewer rights for women and the ridiculous war on drugs they both profit from.

  15. As soon as the society make room to be more inclusive, some feels it’s losing power…it’s really alarming

    1. It is not inclusive whenever you are forcing to put people in places they do not belong nor work for these positions. Just because you are black or a female does not make you the right person for the job. These positions need to be filled based off the merits of one’s character not the color of their skin or gender

  16. They never ask if they feel differently post Jan.6th. When the gerrymandering and state houses started getting expanded election tasks. I would expect to see Dems mistrust to have went up exponentially

    1. Democrats don’t like the way the Republicans are abusing the political system right now, but they are not afraid of the government. Most peopel want to work within the rule of law to improve things

    1. @Alex Baumyes there are white people who have had very hard lives for many reasons, but not being white isnt one of them.

    2. @Alex Baum She didn’t mention skin color or political leanings. Her statement is just that, that people who are so used to privilege all their lives suddenly feel like they’ve lost something when the field is levelled. It even applies to sports when there’s a coaching change, or a teacher’s pet moves to the next grade, or new students change the power dynamics in a class. But you may be right about there being many conservatives who come from poorer backgrounds; the white, non-college educated base is the GOP’s strongest block compared to other demographics. Still, there are many poor black and other minority groups that are heavily DEMs.

  17. The supreme court’s decision on citizens united was the nail in the coffin of a representative democracy

    1. @David Allison Talking about the Citizens United decision? I haven’t heard a single solitary word about that decision recently.

    2. @Zane Holland Well, that had a nice vindictive thrust to it. Regardless, I haven’t heard a word spoken about the Citizens United decision in any real measure recently.

  18. When truth becomes so subjective to the point that no one can agree on what is actually true, this is the result.

  19. it’s comforting to know we’ve proceeded past the “get them to believe absurdities” phase of complete, abject collapse, and have finally achieved the “get them to commit atrocities” part

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