"Why Dems shouldn’t fear politics of gun control" by Greg Sargent at the WP

[applegrove]

Why Dems shouldn’t fear politics of gun control

by Greg Sargent at the WP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2012/12/17/why-dems-shouldnt-fear-politics-of-gun-control/

"SNIP............................................


I noted this morning that gun control may not hold the political peril for Democrats that it once did, mainly because of the Democratic Party’s waning reliance on culturally conservative white voters. Ron Brownstein did a deep dive into older polling data and moved the ball further, establishing that the groups Obama relied upon for reelection — the emerging coalition of the Democratic Party’s future — are all behind gun control.

Now we have a brand new Washington Post/ABC News poll that really drives this home. What’s really striking is that opposition to stricter gun control is largely driven by white men — blue collar white men in particular.

By contrast, college educated whites, white women, moderates, and minorities all show majority support for stricter gun laws. These are the emerging pillars of the Democratic coalition.

First, the toplines. The Post poll finds that Americans favor stricter gun laws by 54-43. The Post polling team tells me that whites oppose them by 48-50. But this is driven by opposition among white men (42-56) and non-college whites (44-53). By contrast, college educated whites favor stricter laws (54-43), as do white women (53-44).

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[Fumesucker]

1. That implies wealthier white males support gun control

But the wealthier you are the more likely you are to vote Republican, there's a pretty strong correlation for that.

Interesting conundrum.

[applegrove]

2. Yup. Could be a new Obama coalition being built. On such a tragedy.

But that is what tragedies bring.