Not sure what to make of this: Poll shows that Democrats prefer a candidate who compromises

[pampango]

with other party. Independents largely agree with Democrats on this, but republicans prefer a candidate who will not compromise.

Democratic voters, in particular, place value on candidates who will make compromises: 63% say this, compared with 31% who prioritize sticking to core values. Republican voters, by contrast, are more likely to value candidates who stick to their core values (57% vs. 35%).

GOP Voters Prefer a Candidate With 'Proven Record' to One With 'New Ideas'Within the party coalitions there are differences on these measures among each candidate’s supporters, particularly within the GOP. Among Republican voters, those who say there is a good chance they would vote for Bush are more supportive of a candidate who would compromise with the other party than are supporters of Cruz, Carson, Walker, or Paul.

http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/02/campaign-2016-modest-interest-high-stakes/

This stark partisan difference could be a sign that Democrats know that compromise is an essential part of governing in a democracy, while republicans are the party of "NO" and "my way or the highway.

Or this partisan difference in attitudes towards the idea of compromise could be a perceived as a sign of weakness among Democrats and strength of conviction (though not based on logic, evidence or history) among republicans.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Kind of irrelevant since the GOP never compromises

[pampango]

2. But is that because they are immature jerks or because they are reflecting their voters' attitudes?

Or both?

And if Democratic politicians seem more willing to compromise, is that because they are reflecting their voters' attitudes or because they view a degree of compromise as inherent in democratic government or because they lack conviction or because they are hypocritical "sell-outs" (as opposed to the "obvious sell-outs" that most republican politicians are)?

[BeyondGeography]

4. Well phrased

I think we can safely say those poll results go out the window whenever compromise moves from the hypothetical (sure, it's the "reasonable" thing to do) to taking the my-way-or-the-highway deals that the GOP routinely puts on the table. Even President Obama, who displayed symptoms of fatal attraction to compromise in his first term, has moved on.

[still_one]

3. It also shows republicans not willing to compromise. What that implies to me is they hold

Democrats to a higher standard than republicans, and that is truly messed up

[pampango]

5. Who is "they"? It is Democratic voters who hold Democratic candidates to that "higher standard"

while republican voters hold their candidates to the "lower" (anti-compromise) standard.

Independents prefer that candidates of both parties be willing to compromise. At least this poll does not show that independents have different standards for the two parties.

[stevenleser]

6. I interpret it as a large majority of Democrats understand Democracy.

In a Democracy it's rare you get everything you want on any issue. If you insist on no compromise in politics, Democratic forms of government are not for you.

[Richardo]

10. Bingo!

Thanks, Steve...

[Whiskeytide]

12. That's precisely it...

...the "my way or the highway" form of government is called a dictatorship. I find it to be one of the most ironic political oddities that those who profess to be the most patriotic (between sips of tea) have the most stark misunderstanding of the way our government works. I'd find it funny if I weren't too tired to laugh from it keeping me up at night.

[sufrommich]

13. This. nt

[Atman]

7. Not surprising in the slightest.

Compromise and fairness are what make us Democrats. Demanding they get their way 100% of the time is what makes them assho...er, Republicans.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

8. The poll suggests embracing compromise is an efficacious political strategy...

The poll suggests embracing compromise is an efficacious political strategy or at least to pay lip service to it if your intention is to win an election.

[pampango]

11. Agreed, but if your intention is to move political discourse in your direction rather than

to win the next election perhaps embracing compromise is not the most efficacious strategy.

[Whiskeytide]

14. Is that you, Karl???

... (sorry - couldn't resist). That's if you want to win at the expense of the system - Rove's short term goals model.

I have no trouble wrapping my head around the concept of sticking to your core principles while still being able to compromise to move the country - and important issues - forward. Whether we (progressives) like it or not, a pretty good sized portion of the population in this country is conservative. That means they are represented in our form of government, have some say, and have to be dealt with on the adoption of policy. Government is supposed to move slowly in our system (providing increased stability) - that sucks when our guys have won office and we want change NOW!, but its a good thing when the other party is elected and we want them to slow down the regressive march to the stone age.

[NCTraveler]

9. It is proven over and over again.

Those left of center have a better grasp on reality.

[Thinkingabout]

15. It is the teaparty way, either you do everything I say or you are on the wrong side.

This political maneuver is the worst, we see what has happened to the GOP, radicals has attempted to take the party over. They can not win on their own but they think if they put R behind their names then they have a chance to win elections. For them R is for radical.

[JustAnotherGen]

16. I'd like to see the Hispanic/Latino population

Included in this. Whites and Blacks included only those who are not Hispanic.

I wonder why the largest growing block of voters in the US did not even register with the Pew Research Center? And yes - I went into the link but didn't find them measured against blacks and whites.

[bullwinkle428]

17. If the American public is too GODDAMNED STUPID to recognize that the

current President has twisted himself into pretzels (to the detriment of many of us) thousands of times in an effort to compromise with Republicans, only to be rejected, then we are DONE being anything close to a great country.

[Nitram]

18. It means that Democrats care more about the country than their party.