Who Do You Trust More?

There was a poll out a few days ago, asking respondents which party they trust to deal with a handful of major issues. The results were stupid and terrible, with clear majorities saying they trust Republicans more on crime, the economy, immigration, and several other important issues.

I glanced at it and silently screamed, then turned the page.

Dave Roberts had a Twitter thread today that must be in response to that poll, or to those kinds of results in general. I think he's correct, at least in most of his analysis:

There is no area of policy where Republicans produce superior results. So on polls, when respondents say that they trust Republicans more than Democrats on issue X, I just take that to mean: issue X is one that taps into the public's reactionary instincts.

So on immigration, for instance, the public is attracted to harsh restrictions and exclusion — not because of better results, but because of the Stern Father vibes. Same with crime — we know "tough on crime" doesn't work, but it's a subject that elicits Stern Father vibes.

Immigration and crime seem like two issues where that dynamic is basically inevitable; they trigger some very primal us-vs.-them instincts.

The one that vexes me is the economy. The fact that voters continue to trust the GOP more to handle the economy despite the party's rich record of disastrous failure indicates to me that the public still views "the economy" through a reactionary lens, meaning talk about scarcity, austerity, and "tough choices" appeals more than talk about care, solidarity, and mutual support.

I don't think you're ever going to get a truly progressive majority on immigration or crime, but it seems like the economy is one area were these kinds of perceptions could be changed, or at least shifted. We don't *have* to see the economy through a zero-sum lens.

To me, this is the top challenge for progressives: to convince the public that we can have nice things. That mutual support and care are not only possible, but they *produce better results* than an economy based on zero-sum scarcity, hoarding, and austerity.

The fact that Roberts gives up on immigration and crime — which are essentially issues rooted in racism and white supremacy — should not go without note. I disagree with him. They don't seem any more inevitable to me than the economy.