If a pollster asks a Republican how important democracy is as an issue to them, I'm not sure how that turns out

[RidinWithHarris]

Since Republicans are always projecting, they often cast Democrats as the supposed threat to democracy.

So you could get a Trump voter saying democracy is their top issue.

But how many Republicans would say that relative to Democrats? Some Republicans are openly disdainful of democracy. The ones deluded enough to think Trump is some great hope for freedom might still care more about "illegals" or who uses what bathroom.

I'm guessing that most poll respondents who rank democracy as an important issue are Democrats voting for Harris, or even Liz Cheney-like Republicans voting for Harris. But I'm not sure how it all balances out.

[Silent Type]

1. I once had a debate with an honest to gawd Klansman who claimed he was a "civil rights activist."

“Democracy” is a term that that rube trumpsters use when they don’t want to say “they support a dictator racist/bigot.”

[Dem4life1234]

2. They fear their own shadows and think they are the only ones entitled to live in this country!

Horrible weird people!

[TwilightZone]

3. They think Trump is protecting democracy.

Per Gallup, for Rs, democracy is 7th on their list of important issues, with about 40% considering it extremely important.

For Democrats, it's the top issue with 58% considering it extremely important.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/651719/economy-important-issue-2024-presidential-vote.aspx

[RidinWithHarris]

8. Thanks for the info. If democracy is a mere 7th place priority for Republicans...

...then it's fair to guess that people in general who rank democracy highly are mostly Harris supporters, including a few Republicans willing to vote for Harris.

[TwilightZone]

9. It was rated higher than gun policy.

So, I don't think we can completely assume that nearly all of them were Ds. A bunch of their issues were grouped together, so it's still considered pretty important. It's actually kind of surprising that it's that high.

I think we can assume that the majority were Harris supporters, but perhaps not the vast majority. Really no way to tell without a breakdown. More Ds than Rs, certainly.

[Quixote1818]

4. It was way more Democrats in the Iowa poll who cited democracy. nt

[Mike 03]

5. Exactly. This applies to other issues as well

Pundits seem to believe that if your top issue is the Economy, you're voting for Trump. But if my top issue was the Economy, I'd also be voting for Harris because a Tariff war and cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget is a catastrophic "economic plan."

Even if Immigration/Border is your top issue, one thing that is crystal clear is Trump doesn't want to solve it because he needs it to divide people--Kamala is far more likely to actually solve that one too.

[RockRaven]

6. RWNJ media figures like Alex Jones have been telling their audience that

if TCF doesn't win there will never be another election. They have been characterizing a vote for TCF as a vote to defend democracy. So these poll questions don't predict much, imo. The meaning of any given answer is ambiguous since RWers live in upside-down world.

[Metaphorical]

7. MAGAts do not like democracy

Many do not even understand it. Most of us have heard the canard that "The United States is a Republic, not a Democacy".

Of course, the US is in fact both - a republic simply indicates that a country is not a formal monarchy or aristocracy (in practice, that's not actually even all the much of a distinction any more). A democracy indicates that power is shared by consensus through elections. A representative democracy (which is what we are) is that we choose our representatives to make decisions on our behalf.

The bigger distinction is usually whether the system is free (which in essence means unregulated) or fair (meaning some manner of regulation), and who specifically is granted the franchise and what influence that franchise has.

I think the ideal form of government to a Magat would be one where the franchise (the right to vote) is only granted to party members, preferably male, but with a theocratic or monarchial form of government. The head of the government is then chosen by a private committee of the elect or inherits the position from their ruler, usually until they die. In other words, it would like a lot more like the British Aristocracy and specifically the House of Lord pre-1820, save with fewer people having the right to vote on fewer things. Freedom translates into privilege - free for me but not for thee.