People Want Their Leaders To Compromise To Solve The Country's Problems

Once again, the Republican Party is threatening to shut down the United States government or refuse to raise the national debt limit  in an effort to force their own ideology on the rest of the country. They don't seem to care that the national voters rejected that extreme right-wing ideology by a large margin in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, and they have refused to compromise on any important issue since President Obama took office in 2009.

They would tell you that they are just following the wishes of their constituents in refusing to compromise. That is simply not true. Poll after poll shows the American people want the two parties to work together for the good of the country, and find compromises that will heal the economy and create jobs. Now a new poll shows that is still the wish of most Americans.

A new Gallup Poll (conducted between September 5th and 8th by surveying 1,510 nationwide adults, with a margin of error of 3 points) shows that a majority of Americans (53%) want national leaders to compromise, while only 25% don't want any compromise. And the same is true of both Independents (55% wanting compromise) and Moderates (56% wanting compromise).

I am an unashamed liberal (progressive), and I believe the liberal ideology offers the best hope for America's future. But I am also a realist, and I understand that the United States is a country that has never liked the political extremes (on either the right or the left). This country seems to work the best when the two parties compromise. Compromise is the vehicle this country has used historically to avoid making serious mistakes.

Compromise does slow the rate of change in the country, but a slow and steady march toward a better country (without huge mistakes) is better than no change at all. Like my fellow liberals, I would like to see change happen faster, but I am proud that the liberals understand the need for compromise. As the poll showed, about 65% of liberals (and 61% of Democrats) understand the value of compromise and approve of it.

It is the right-wing in this country that has refused to compromise in recent years. But this poll shows that right-wingers are not solidly against compromise. Republicans, and somewhat surprisingly the teabaggers, are split on the issue of compromise (with the numbers for and against it being within the margin of error of the poll), and a clear plurality of conservatives favor compromise among our national leaders.

This shows that the congressional Republicans, with their refusal to compromise on anything, once again find themselves acting against the wishes of most Americans (and many among their own party and ideology).