“The entitlement, everybody feeling it’s their way or no way. I know people say they are protesting to bring people together, but I believe that a lot of people are just selfish and are worrying about themselves. I just worry about society. I don’t know what it’s going to take to bring things back.”
54-year-old woman, New Jersey, Moderate
Moderates reflect the middle of the road of public opinion in America. They tend to be engaged in their communities, often volunteer, and are interested in current affairs, but uncomfortable with the tribalism of politics. They tend to be socially conservative and religion plays an important role in their lives. They feel conflicted on certain social justice issues, including same sex marriage, and they are slower to embrace change. They mostly disapprove of Donald Trump as president and overwhelmingly believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Among those planning to vote in the 2018 midterms, they favor Democrats over Republicans by a margin of 4-3. Yet they also think that political correctness has gone too far. They dislike the activism and what they see as extremism of both progressives and conservatives. While they think feminism has gone too far, they also recognize sexual harassment as an important issue. They support the notion of sanctuary cities and want undocumented immigrants to have better treatment. They tend to seek less radical solutions than Devoted or Traditional Conservatives, such as building a border wall. They are worried about the state of America and feel that American identity is slipping away.
Division, Foreign Tensions, and Healthcare
More likely to follow current affairs some or most of the time (80 percent v. 72 percent)
Five percent more likely to agree that immigration is good for the country (61 percent v. 56 percent)
Four percent more likely to say police are more violent toward African Americans than others (55 percent v. 51 percent)
Nine percent more likely to believe that political correctness has gone too far (89 percent v. 80 percent)
Six percent more likely to be over 45 (60 percent v. 54 percent)
Four percent more likely to have “some college” (27 percent v. 23 percent)