A New Year’s resolution for DC: Stop the bickering
Americans in poll want cooperation in Congress
Arlanna Spencer, Florida Democrat
Americans have a New Year’s resolution in mind for Washington: Cut it out.
In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll welcoming 2019, the most frequent suggestion from voters by far was for official Washington to resolve to stop squabbling and work across party lines. Indeed, setting an example of citizen bipartisanship, Democrats, Republicans and independents all united behind the idea as their top response to the openended question.
The resolution is particularly timely for a new year that begins with the spectacle of a partial government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers were sent home without pay, at least for now. There’s no clear indication of how or when the standoff over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall will get settled.
“I don’t want a bigger government; I don’t want a smaller government; I want an efficient, running government,” said Arlanna Spencer, 43, a stay-at-home mother and a Democrat from Flagler Beach, Florida, who was called in the poll. Her message to Washington: “Do your jobs. I am tired of the bickering.”
The plea for bipartisanship was volunteered by nearly one in three of those surveyed, and the resolution that finished a distant second (“fix things”) reflected a similar sentiment.
Hopes for a more cooperative attitude overwhelmed demands for any policy goal, although there were some of those, too. Nine percent proposed a New Year’s resolution to impeach Trump, including 17 percent of Democrats and 23 percent of African-Americans. Catherine O’Connor, an independent from Lockport, New York, directed her resolution at GOP members of Congress who have generally avoided confronting the president: “Develop a spine,” she said.
Two percent suggested the reverse, to support the president.
The nationwide poll of 1,000 registered voters, taken by landline and cellphone from Dec. 11-16, has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
The arrival of a new year is traditionally a time for reflection about the year that is just ending and about the one that is about to begin. Those surveyed were relatively optimistic about what the new year will bring for them and their families: 71 percent said they felt hopeful, nearly three times the 25 percent who said they felt fearful.
There were bigger concerns about what 2019 will mean for the nation: 57 percent were hopeful, but more than a third, 37 percent, were fearful. On that question, Republicans had a sunnier outlook: 75 percent were hopeful about what’s ahead for the USA in the new year and just 17 percent fearful. Most Democrats saw difficult days ahead, 54 percent to 43 percent.
“I am apprehensive,” acknowledged Thomas Maslany, 72, a Democrat from Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania.
“I have some concerns,” said Linda Overby, 75, a Republican from Warrenton, North Carolina. “I don’t know if I would call it fear.” She does know this: She doesn’t like the bickering.
“I don’t want a bigger government; I don’t want a smaller government; I want an efficient, running government.”