Silent Majority: Poll Finds Independents Are Far More Conservative Than They're Willing To Admit
Issues & Insights, by The Editorial Board
If conservatives want to win elections, they don’t need to rile up the base, they need to convince independents to say in public what they believe in private – that they agree with conservatives on most issues and that Democrats are the wildly out-of-touch extremists.
That, at least, is one way to read a fascinating new survey from Populace, a non-partisan think tank in Massachusetts, which figured out a way to discern what 20,000 Americans think privately and compare that to what they are willing to say publicly.
It turns out that there are often wide gaps between the two, which Populace calls the “Social Pressure Index.” People tend to avoid stating their views if they think they’re in the minority.
But here’s the really interesting finding: On a host of bellwether issues, independents are, in private, far more conservative than they will admit to pollsters.
The survey asked questions about democracy, individual rights, the economy, culture, racism, etc.
Take the question of whether the government has “too much control in America.” Fully 71% of independents believe this privately. That is almost identical to the 78% of Republicans who believe it. In contrast, a mere 17% of Democrats think government has too much control.
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https://issuesinsights.com/2024/09/30/survey-says-independents-are-way-more-conservative-than-theyre-willing-to-admit/
