Exclusive: Top Reason Americans Will Vote For Trump: 'To Stop Clinton' - Poll

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

Sat May 7, 2016 1:48am EDT

Nearly half of American voters who support either Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump for the White House said they will mainly be trying to block the other side from winning, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday.

The results reflect a deepening ideological divide in the United States, where people are becoming increasingly fearful of the opposing party, a feeling worsened by the likely matchup between the New York real estate tycoon and the former first lady, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

"This phenomenon is called negative partisanship," Sabato said. "If we were trying to maximize the effect, we couldn't have found better nominees than Trump and Clinton."

Trump has won passionate supporters and vitriolic detractors for his blunt talk and hardline proposals, including his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, his vow to force Mexico to pay for a border wall, and his promise to renegotiate international trade deals.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-anti-vote-idUSKCN0XX06E

[DJ13]

1. This is NO WAY to run a country

[Shandris]

48. It is if you're a third party using a corrupted version of the Hegelian dialectic to finish...

...your endgame of civil war ---> 'savior solution'. It's EXACTLY how to run a country in that case.

But I'm sure it's just the 'natural' 'evolution' and 'progress' of our 'political opinions'. Because, you know, every country literally hates half it's populace or something.

[ViseGrip]

52. 73% did not want a clinton or bush on a ticket. They have forced them on us again.

So once again, it's voting for 'something' or someone else!

Well we can play too.

I'm voting for whoever makes congress the most miserable.

If Trump was a put up, to stop anyone from getting near Hillary, and NOW the media wants to take him down....I say send in the clowns!

Make the establishment on both sides pay.

[Democat]

2. The poll just says that Republicans and Democrats hate each other

50% of Americans hate Democrats and 50% hate Republicans. Is that a surprise to anyone who has been around since the 2000 election?

Republicans would have hated Sanders just as much.
Democrats would have hated Cruz just as much.

This poll says nothing new.

[still_one]

3. nuts, that destroys the talking point

[JPnoodleman]

8. It reveals that both figures more or less can count on votes...

because a lot of people hate the other guy,

Making this election a big unpopularity contest.

[Democat]

14. Name a recent election where each side didn't hate the other

There hasn't been one since 1996 at least.

[JPnoodleman]

17. Has most of their support been....

Hatred for the other guy?

And is that really the purpose of voting and politics?

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. I'll name two. Obama and Obama again. I thought Obama was great, but I didn't hate Romney or

McCain.

[Democat]

35. Lots of people were voting against Palin and against Romney

Even if they liked Obama.

[FailureToCommunicate]

38. Fine, but that wasn't what you asked.

[Skittles]

21. CORRECT

[sendero]

28. Come on..

.... Republicans do hate Democrats but with HRC is goes way way beyond hate.

[yurbud]

34. If it was just the partisans hating each other, it would be more like a third and a third.

This shows a fair amount of independent distaste for both, which ironic since the DLC/New Dem/whatever types claim they are corporate compliant to win over independents.

Bernie has destroyed that argument.

[thesquanderer]

39. The degree is different. And its not about Republicans vs. Dems.

The degree is different because both Clinton and Trump have record high unfavorables among the general electorate, compared to past presidential candidates (or compared to Sanders, maybe not Cruz).

And it's not simply about Repubs and Dems hating each other, because there are more independents than there are either Repubs or Dems.

[EdwardBernays]

51. no

the idea that Republican would've hated Sanders is utter nonsense.

There has been decades of hatred towards the Clintons and Hillary has endless historical scandals that millions on the right are aware of... many people have literally been waiting decades to vote against Hillary...

Pretending otherwise is silly.

[griffi94]

4. Oh no. The sky must be falling

We better set aside all the primaries
and caucuses that Hillary won.

Overturn the will of the majority and pick Bernie.

Yeah. That's going to happen haha.

Bernie lost.
Time to move on.

[chwaliszewski]

7. Actually, neither Trump nor Clinton have won their respective nominations...

just saying.

[Jack Rabbit]

5. I'm not surprised

Trump vs. Clinton is a sure way to guarantee a low voter turnout. I'll turnout, but I don't know how many of my friends and neighbors will.

[greymouse]

10. Indiana: 77% of Independents Bernie, 23% Hillary

Yah, that will work well in the general.

My state counts writeins, so if Bernie is not the nominee of either the Democratic or Green party, I'm writing him in. Otherwise I'd be hard pressed between not voting and voting for Trump to keep Clintons out of the White House. In all my seventy plus years, I never thought I'd consider voting Republican for President, then again the party has hit the bottom of the barrel with the Clintons. Has there been a worse Democratic candidate ever? Not in my memory.

My state is about as blue as possible, and voted Bernie in the primary, but Trump is currently ahead of Hillary here in a general election matchup.

[Democat]

11. Another pro-Trump troll speaks

Can't wait to see all of you right wingers banned from DU.

[JDPriestly]

15. Wait a minute. Do you oppose Bernie because he is a Socialist or because he is right-wing?

Hillary supporters seem so confused about this. Which is it?

[Democat]

16. Anyone who posts in support of Donald Trump is a right winger

And does not belong on this forum.

[Skittles]

22. "Hill" is a dead giveaway

[Lizzie Poppet]

27. anti-Hillary =/= pro-Trump

[mac56]

29. Agreed. Such paranoia.

"If you're not tossing rose petals in front of MY candidate --- the CORRECT candidate -- you MUST be a pro-Trump troll."

Honestly, I've not seen such a bunker mentality since the Nixon Watergate years.

[Lizzie Poppet]

30. To be blunt...

...it's cult behavior. Anything other than praise of the cult figure is "opposition."

[MisterFred]

49. Ah, the 'ole "if you're not with me, you're against me" gambit

So good at making friends..... /sarcasm

[Lean]

23. One Isn't A Troll

Because he disagrees with you. I'm about as Progressive as they get, yet I despise Hillary Clinton, as MILLIONS of other Progressives do as well. And I won't vote for her either. I don't think the Democrats could have picked a worse candidate.

[senz]

40. No. The commenter is a VERY liberal/progressive Bernie supporter.

Too bad the DNC put up a conservative corporatist "Democrat" this year, because they've managed to alienate most of the remaining FDR Democrats. You know: liberals.

Bad, bad choice on their part.

[msongs]

9. well that covers the trump and sanders voters. nt

[JDPriestly]

12. Why didn't they include Bernie Sanders in their poll.

That is how this system is rigged. Typical.

I want to see how Bernie Sanders would do and why people would vote for him and against the other two.

[senz]

41. The poll measures negative partisanship. That's voting against, rather than for.

Bernie is not a hated candidate. Hillary and Trump are both very feared/hated candidates.

So it's an interesting poll from that vantage point.

[world wide wally]

13. Fox News does a bang up job… You have to admit that

[tomm2thumbs]

18. THAT in itself is an indictment..!!

of how this political establishment thinks

[PSPS]

19. Translation: It's a horse race, folks. Honest!!11! Be sure to tune in so we can up our ad rates!!1

[Feeling the Bern]

20. This shouldn't be a horse race, but Americans love corportists and rich asshole (Trump) that don't

give a shit about them (quoting Carlin).

[Kingofalldems]

24. So we should just drop out and let the republicans win?

[Trust Buster]

26. Then, by all means, vote for Trump if you wish. This is a Democratic website.

[tabasco]

31. Those who criticize democracy as "mob rule" might have a point

How did we end up with two awful, uninspiring, unqualified candidates?

[libdem4life]

42. Pretty obvious to me...we are close to being an Oligarchy.

That's where Peasants know their place and their "betters" know better what they need, how much, when and if.

Simple. Then along comes Bernie. Oops. Busted. Now what? We're pretty far down the proverbial Rabbit Hole with this Oligarchy stuff and all. The next few months are going to be very interesting.

Bernie wants to enlighten and empower we Peasants, but many still live in Plato's Cave and are content with the shadows on the wall representing their reality.

[senz]

43. The news media made these two the most prominent.

Over the past eight months or so, Trump has occupied the MSM like no other candidate. Hillary has been second in recent media coverage but would far surpass Trump in longterm media coverage.

There are other reasons for Hillary's prominence (years of effort, insider politicking, DNC, etc.), but the MSM is a huge factor for both candidates.

The MSM is extremely consolidated (six major owners) and gives the public a lopsided view of events. Reagan and Bill Clinton deregulated the mass media, allowing monopolies to develop. We had a much better democracy before media deregulation because there were many separately-owned media outlets offering a wider variety of viewpoints.

We won't get our democracy back until we break up the media, get money out of politics, and improve voting access and security.

[beastie boy]

32. Yeah, I remember Republicans voting for Romney because they loved Obama...

[underpants]

33. +/- 5.3% and +/- 4.7%

[Nitram]

36. This is news? The right wing has been brainwashing the public about Clinton for 25 years.

Most conservatives view her as the anti-Christ. Ironically, many Bernie supporters buy into that as well.

[libdem4life]

45. If she would just stop doing, saying, flipflopping, stupid stuff...

she brings it on herself. I agree some go overboard, but she's shady and she's not Bill, i.e. she comes off very negatively...no charisma. That's a pretty well known fact. And no, it's not the fault of the Right Wing.

Anyone who has a video can see this...it's not like it's made up, you know. She's likely fatally flawed for the GE. Her years of contacts and Democratic Party Politics have greased the skids for her so no other Establishment Democrat dare oppose her.

Then came Bernie, the Dark Horse from Vermont. Once the Democrats had a choice, it was bound to bring out the less positive aspects...most of which they all knew about, but because she's a Clinton...well, you know.

So we have a split now. Those who continue to ignore/forgive/overlook her sky high negatives...and she brought them on herself for the most part...and those who think she'll lose the GE because the Independents don't much care for her, either.

She's a Centrist, at best, so the Liberal Wing now has a spokesperson for outrageous Unicorns and Fairies such as Health Care, Free College (I got free college in California prior to Reagan), having the rich pay at least something, if not their fair share, some thought before going into war as a second nature...things like that we Peasants think we deserve. Other countries provide this and more.

It looks like there will be a Grand Bargain between her BFF Trump's followers...blessed by Kissinger... and her followers. Not a big surprise. Winning...that's all there is.

Trump's ready to screw the Republican Party, and HRC is ready to do the same. They are a marriage made in political heaven.

[mysuzuki2]

37. and many will vote for Hillary to stop Trump.

[senz]

44. A broadly acceptable alternative candidate could walk in and clean up.

We can be certain some are finding it very tempting.

Given how little time is left, they'd either have to run independently (which means they'd need independent wealth, probably their own) or they'd have to convince panicked party elites to drop the front runner and substitute someone else. This is what the Democratic Party did in 1968, substituting Hubert Humphrey, a candidate who had not run in the primaries.

I could see the Republicans doing it more easily, as the RNC dislikes Trump.

The Democratic situation is different, as the DNC is, essentially, part of the Hillary campaign. The only thing I can see that could make them drop Hillary would be a cataclysmic event like a criminal indictment or a serious health issue.

[libdem4life]

46. This is a good analysis. But I don't see the Republicans having any more

choice than the Democrats have. The Reality of their Right Wingers... they finally have a candidate...and surprise, they are a majority. I can't imagine any serious, Establishment Republican stepping into that morass.

Somehow, the two least liked politicians have ended up ahead. Both have fractured their party with serious political divides forming. It's almost like we're doing a quasi-parliamentary situation. So, if Hillary stumbles for whatever reason, will they get behind Sanders? Nope. They'll continue to self destruct with a Biden or other appropriate Establishment type.

The Bernie group...the Peasants (who used to be Middle Class) and Young, may or may not survive this and go back to "their proper place". I hope not. If we continue, it will be through Bernie's leadership and his deep commitment to his cause. Winning is not everything for him...thank goodness.

[senz]

47. Party bosses have tremendous say.

If the RNC sticks someone else in there -- say, Mitt Romney -- where will the teabaggers go? If the party elites need an excuse to invalidate Trump, they can find one. He hasn't been vetted; there must be tons of stuff out there.

Yes, there is no way the Third Way/DLC "Democratic" party elites would allow Bernie supporters -- the grassroots -- to have our candidate. If something happens to Hill, they're preparing Biden to step in. This has been discussed in a couple of threads.

The thing to bear in mind with Bernie's political revolution (which has been brewing for a long time with occasional small uprisings in OWS and the massive anti-Bush, anti-Iraq invasion protests) is that it is NOT -- I repeat, NOT -- merely a party phenomenon. We are Americans, first and foremost, not mere party regulars. It's so much bigger than that.

[urbuddha]

50. Bernie or Bust !

Feel the Bern !

[BadGimp]

53. This is very dangerous imo

Campaigns based on negatives are seldom winners..

[TomCADem]

54. In 2012, Primary Reason To Vote for Romney...

...was to stop President Obama/Obamacare, so what's new?