Americans are more united than the mainstream media leads on

A new poll shows that 68% of voters have had a protest in their area.

Full transcript:

Scott Rasmussen  0:00  

Hey there, Scott Rasmussen here. Welcome to my podcast, Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. You know, I've been writing a number the day feature for more than three years, it gets published each weekday morning over at Ballotpedia. That's the Encyclopedia of American Politics. And now we're expanding it into this format. This is just day two and, and I hope you'll take a moment to subscribe to this podcast, you can do it at Just the News.com or wherever you download your favorite podcast. The format's going to be a little different, obviously, than in the written approach I take with Ballotpedia. But the idea is the same. Every morning I pick a number that's interesting, or at least that I think is interesting. Put it in the context and then use it to see what it can teach us about the world around us. What about life in America in the 21st century, can we learn from this number? Now today's number has to do with all the riots and the protests that are going on around the country. I'm going to explore a theme. It's really important to me, it's one that I think often gets overlooked. It's this idea that American politics is far more divided than American society. And now, you may think it's kind of crazy that I want to talk about protests as a way to demonstrate that point. But that's really what the numbers eventually tell us when you dig deep enough. The number the day today is 68, as in 68% of voters have had some protests in their area. Obviously, it's more common in urban America and in the suburbs than it is out among rural voters. But even in rural America, most voters say they've seen some protests in their area. I'll be back right after these messages to dig a little bit deeper into these numbers and show how the idea of these protests, the way the American people are responding to and perceiving these protests, highlights the disconnect between American politics and American society.

Scott Rasmussen  2:04  

Welcome back to Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day. Today we're talking about 68, 68% of voters say they've had some protests in their area recently. And yet, despite all that we're hearing in the news. This number, exploring how people are reacting to those protests can help us recognize that American society is not nearly as divided as American politics. Now, look, I recognize that's not the imagery we see on the news. If you just watch television or social media, you see an angry and painfully divided nation, you're being forced to pick sides. You know, you're either with the cops, which means you're a bigot, or you're for racial justice, which means you hate the police and in terms of the political world, there can be no middle ground, no room for compromise, because both sides believe the other side... or at least they pretend to believe the other side is evil. Fortunately, America's voters are a whole lot wiser than that. And the way I get to that is by taking a look at the data. Sure 68% have had some protests in their area. But you know what, two thirds of them say they've been peaceful. So maybe the angry images are a little bit overblown. But then take a look at how people are responding. You know, I asked 1200 voters this past weekend, you know if they agreed or disagreed with a statement about the protesters and and I wanted to know if voters thought the protesters were expressing legitimate grievances, and unfortunately, they were disrupted a small number of troublemakers and looters led to violence. And guess what 79% of voters agree with that only 15% don't. That positive view of the protesters is shared overwhelmingly by black voters and white voters and Hispanic voters, by men and women, rich and poor. It doesn't matter where you live, people recognize that we have some challenges in this nation and they expect that people have a right to protest and that there are legitimate grievances. But that doesn't mean that you hate the police and think the police are bad. In fact, we asked a similar question about the police. Is it true that most police officers are pretty much good people trying to do a tough job, but unfortunately, a small number of troublemakers and racists has created racial injustice? Well, guess what? 84% agree with that. Overwhelmingly, people say yes, most cops are good. They're trying to do a decent job. And sure there are some bad people along the way. There are some bad cops and probably there's also some good cops that have a bad day. But most people respect the job they do. In fact, Just the News.com poll found that 72% of voters say they have a favorable opinion of their local police department. 

Scott Rasmussen  4:57  

So rather than the heated rhetoric In the political debate that says you have to pick one side and hate the other, you know what, the overwhelming majority of voters believe that most protesters want to peacefully express their legitimate grievances. And at the very same time, they also believe that most police officers are good people in a difficult position, doing a difficult job. These numbers tell us that voters have a solid handle a solid grip on the reality that life is complicated and messy. You know, yeah, sure, there are some bad people and some people who make mistakes, but there's also a lot of decency out there, both among the protesters and among the police. There's a desire to create a better world a better community to live in. It also suggests that there's something in American society that is sorely lacking in American politics. It's a desire a willingness to see the good and other people while recognizing that none of us are perfect. Now I'll be back with some closing thoughts in today's number of the day right after these messages, but before I do, I'd like to urge you one more time to subscribe to this podcast, Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day, you can do it at Just the News.com, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts.

Scott Rasmussen  6:20  

Welcome back to Scott Rasmussen as number of the day. Again, today's number 68% of voters say you know what, they've had some protests in their area. But the overwhelming majority of them say they've been pretty peaceful. And big, big numbers of Americans say yes, we believe most of the protesters have legitimate grievances and at the same time, they recognize that most of the police are trying to do a good job. They're decent people. The political world wants us to choose. You're on one side or the other. You have to like your team and hate the other. You can't do anything to compromise. But most Americans have a healthier view of the world than that. There is this understanding that you can both support the police without trashing the protesters or you can support the protesters without hating the police. These are things worth celebrating. They provide a firm foundation that wise leaders could use to address the underlying problems and to unify the nation. Now a lot of people are, you know, frustrated, where are we going to find those wise leaders? And that's where the really good news comes in. The truth is that in America, the culture leads and politicians lag behind. If we had to rely on political leaders to solve our nation's problem. Well, you know what, I would be so depressed, there would be no hope for this land. 

Scott Rasmussen  7:48  

But that's not the way it works. The reality is the American people are prepared to push us forward to move us into a better future. And sooner or later, the political world will catch up. And as a starting point on that, it's just again important to recognize the basic theme. Most Americans are pretty unified in terms of the way they see these protests in terms of the way they see the police. It is only the political world that is divided and wants to divide the rest of us. Well, I'll be back tomorrow with another number of the day released at 8am. You can find that at Just the News.com or wherever you happen to download your favorite podcasts. In addition to that, I want to let you know that every day at 2pm Eastern Time, there's a release of a new Just the News.com poll. It always picks up some interesting topic and you know, gives you a little again, different perspective on the way to look at your Americans. Every number can be used to teach us something about the world around us. So check out my podcast Scott Rasmussen is number of the day comes out every morning at 8am Eastern, and also the Just the News.com poll coming out at two pm Eastern. I'll be back tomorrow. Have a great day.