CBS News Poll Analysis: Majority of Democrats want a candidate who will unite the country

[highplainsdem]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-analysis-majority-of-democrats-want-a-candidate-who-will-unite-the-country/

Amid a crowded field of 2020 presidential candidates vying to be the Democratic nominee, CBS News surveyed Democrats nationwide to gauge what characteristics are important to them in a Democratic candidate.

Most Democratic voters have a desire for someone who is hopeful about the future of the county and will try to unify it. But the most liberal Democratic voters differ from the party overall in some of their candidate priorities.

By more than two to one, Democrats are looking for someone who will unite the country rather than push for more liberal policies. They also overwhelmingly prefer a candidate who expresses a hopeful tone about the potential of the country (82%), instead of anger about the state of it (18%).

There is more division about the approach a Democratic presidential candidate should take toward Republicans. 54% want someone who will work with Republicans to get things done, while 46% prefer a candidate who will fight Republicans to stop their agenda.

-snip-

The article goes on to say that the group identifying as "very liberal," about a third of Democrats, have a different focus than the party overall.

[beachbum bob]

2. I don't care to be "united" with Nazis, sorry

[TheRealNorth]

17. +1

After 8 years of spitting in our faces, why do we have to make nice with the Republicans.

[subterranean]

3. I'm sure most of our candidates would be happy to work with Republicans

to get things done, if the Republicans were willing to reciprocate. But the Republicans have made it crystal clear that they have zero interest in working with any Democratic President.

[Indygram]

4. Sounds like Americans want Beto

eom

[highplainsdem]

5. Biden. Which is why he's leading in the polls.

[Indygram]

9. Not the new CNN poll

That poll shows Beto as the most electable against Trump. Beto is running on a message of unity. He has a proven record of listening to and respecting even those who don't agree with him. He still appeals to progressives without turning off moderates. After the debates I think we will see the polls look very different. Right now many people don't know what Biden's policy positions are but that will change over time and he may lose some of his early luster at that point.

[highplainsdem]

10. That poll's an outlier. Every other poll has shown Biden and Sanders, Biden especially, beating

Trump by the widest margins.

[Indygram]

12. I guess we will see going forward

eom

[highplainsdem]

15. I agree. We have a long way to go. Btw, I'm glad that CNN poll was good news for

Beto's supporters. As I've said elsewhere, I like Beto:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/128721840

[Skya Rhen]

11. The CNN poll is nationwide - does not show matchup in the swing states. Must win swing states...

[marylandblue]

13. Biden is also running on unity.

But you are right that things may change after the debates. Biden will have a lot of competition on stage. Expectations are high for him. If he doesn't meet expectations, then he may be seen to "lose" even if he actually does pretty well.

[Kahuna7]

23. I like Beto. Would be thrilled to vote for him. But that's just one poll. nt

[BeyondGeography]

6. Sure they do

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. Aspiring to high minded ideals is always going to be nominal position.

[peggysue2]

8. 82% wanting someone with a hopeful tone is not too surprising

Particularly after 3 wretched years of being bombarded with ugly and cruel. The candidate who believes in the future of the country, who expresses that effectively, will have a leg up.

However, working with the current crop of Republicans is pie in the sky from where I sit. McConnell has already said that if Trump is replaced he will continue the strategy of scorched earth politics, making sure nada gets done. It's going to take someone with an extraordinary set of skills to counter that mindset and restore a sense of sanity.

As for the 'very liberal' set? A number of studies have shown that the 'liberal' label, its very definition, is in the eye of the beholder. The 'very' liberal, far left segment in the vein of Sanders or AOC only represent 10% of the Democratic electorate which is a far cry from a 'third of Dems.'

Uniting the country will be an arduous task. But I agree: it's a task that must be undertaken.

But first, we need to win. Everywhere.

[Peacetrain]

14. Oh my God yes!!! We have been in such a dark place the last two years...

We need that person who can bring out our better angels.. there are people on the right who have left their party and others who have gone deep into the madness.. and literally sold their souls ... we definitely need a uniter..

[Hortensis]

16. I'm very liberal, and my focus is to strengthen and stabilize

our nation above all.

As part of that process to use the opportunities created by technological changes, Republicans and institutionalized corruption, climate change, foreign attacks, smashing of democratic norms and court packing, election theft, transfer of wealth and power to a few, and other disasters to, as much as possible, improve and upgrade, to advance our nation in the process of rescuing it.

Both of course are what this poll shows a large majority want. THIS is also how very liberal people think, both sensible and idealistic.

Liberal does not equate to stupid or radical dysfunction.

We are united in goals.

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Very liberal Nancy Pelosi quoting very liberal justice Louis Brandeis at her swearing in.

[Politicub]

18. Biden is doing a masterful job of messaging

He strikes the most hopeful tone about the country, IMHO. And at the same time, Biden doesn't pull punches when he yokes the GOP to all of the hate it has spawned.

[DCofVA]

19. There is no candidate that can unite the country.

I’m not a pessimist. I’m just a realist. The Trump base will still be here even when Trump is no longer President. The new Democratic President could move to the insane Right but, it will have no effect of winning the Republicans over so, why bother?
I’ve come to think of the Trump base simply as an obstacle, like a road bump. It can’t be reasoned with. All the Democrats have to do is figure out a way to get around the obstacle. It's on the right so, we need to go left. It’s going to take a lot of momentum but, it can be done.

[emmaverybo]

21. You are right

They were always there and will remain. But Trumpism has given them voice. It has been a radicalizing agent. Trump himself, as the president, has given them a platform, promised to satisfy their every sick whim, and in calling them “my voters” give them a standing in this country they have not had post civil rights act.
Without Trump, they have less oxygen, and they will not have that stamp of approval, say in policy they urgently want. He fulfilled their wildest dreams.
Without him, they crawl back to their holes on the internet, their fortified compounds, and hopefully the FBI goes back to monitoring them with the resources to do so.

[mtnsnake]

20. Whether or not it's possible to unite this country, it's is an excellent platform to run on

because most people, not just Democrats, would like this country to be far more united than it is under Trump.

[joshcryer]

22. Biden or Beto are the likely ones.