Voters Didn't Think Congress Cared About Needs Of Most

Many Pundits have tried to explain why Americans voted against the Republicans in the recent election. Donald Trump said it was because the Republicans who lost didn't embrace him enough. Others saw it as a vote against Trump. But perhaps the most cogent explanation is illustrated in the chart above.

The voters just did not think the GOP-controlled Congress had their best interests at heart. They believed that Congress protected only a few groups, while ignoring the needs of most Americans.

They did think Congress cared about the interests of men (by a 20 point margin), cared about the interests of Whites (by an 18 point margin), and cared about the wealthy (by a 49 point margin).

But they said the GOP Congress did not care about the interests of people like them (by a 37 point margin), of women (by a 24 point margin), of Blacks (by a 27 point margin), of Hispanics (by a 24 point margin), of the working class (by a 41 point margin), or the middle class (by a 38 point margin).

They are right, of course. The congressional Republicans care only about protecting the rich, White patriarchy. They really don't care about the plight of other Americans.

The Republicans have two years to change that perception by adopting policies fair to all Americans. But I seriously doubt they will do it. There base won't let them do it. That base cares more for Trump and his divisive policies than they do for the Republican Party -- and that spells doom for the GOP in 2020.

The chart above reflects the results of the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between November 25th and 27th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 points.