Posted on 07/15/2026 6:07:52 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Finding out that, by a 3-to-2 margin, Americans think the country is “evolving into a big government socialist state” is bad enough. Far more worrisome is finding out how many Republicans and self-styled conservatives are on board with one of socialism’s central tenets.
The latest IBD/TIPP Poll, which we are reporting on today, finds that nearly half of Americans agree that we’re sliding into socialism, and less than a third disagree. (See: “By 3-To-2 Margin, Americans Believe U.S. Is Turning Into A ‘Socialist State’: I&I/TIPP Poll.”)
It also finds that Republicans are more pessimistic about the future than Democrats, which strikes us as defeatism on the part of the GOP and willful ignorance by Democrats, whose party is now controlled by the Democratic Socialists of America.
The really disturbing findings in the poll were when we started asking about policy positions endorsed by the DSA.
We’re not too surprised that 51% of liberals say they’re “willing to pay higher taxes to support more social programs.” (Although the number should be 100%.)
But why do 30% of Republicans feel this way? And why in the world would more than one in five “conservatives” say they’d pay higher taxes for more services?
It gets worse.
The poll also asked whether respondents “believe the government should own key industries such as health care and energy.”
Incredibly, 43% of Republicans agree, as do 41% of conservatives. That’s barely higher than the share of liberals who want government ownership of key industries. (See the chart above.)
What in God’s name is going on here?
Does this reflect the rise of “nationalist” conservatives, who distrust the private sector and like big government almost as much as liberals? (Vice President JD Vance, who has described himself as “postliberal” conservative, was last seen bashing Milton Friedman in an interview that our friend Steve Moore described as “anti-free-market, big government gobbledygook.”)
Is it the result of President Donald Trump’s push to have the government buy up shares in companies? The New York Times reported this week that “over the past year, the Trump administration has made deals to acquire equity stakes in more than two dozen firms, an unusual practice that has extended the government’s influence over industries including semiconductors, nuclear energy, minerals, quantum computers and steel.”
Is it something in the water?
The only good news we can find in this poll is that your average Democrat isn’t at all on board with the socialists taking control of their party, which will become clear when we report on support for other DSA policy positions next week.
But what hope is there for the country if Republicans – and even more alarmingly, conservatives – have bought into a major plank in the socialist agenda?
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Without knowing the internals or specifics of the poll, my first reaction was that this is part of a movement to "normalize" the acceptance of socialism.
Because there is a movement afoot today to do just that. The Communists (Socialists are Communists who simply don't know it yet) are like Marx, who thought the time was ripe for a revolution 1848, encouraged the people to throw off their chains and take power.
He (and they) failed.
I believe today, these scum are coming out of the woodwork in our society and politics because they believe the time is right for Communism to rise as it did in 1918 in Russia.
It did cross my mind that this is simply a part of the propaganda campaign that encompasses Media, Entertainment, Education, and Government.
These polls may have a relatively small margin of error in its totality (that is if the “sample” is scientifically good) but these sub groups have a much larger margin of error. Not to mention these polls are only as good as the respondents honesty (not high) and the poll takers methodology and soundness (proven poor over the past couple decades). In other words take these with a major skepticism and pay more attention to what you actually see not what some pollster tells you to see.
Is it something in the water?
..................................
Is the writer that clueless and blind not to see this is the result of decades of antichristian indoctrination?
This is a direct result of super inflation and pricing people out of being able to afford to live anymore. Rents, housing, food. Some Americans can’t even afford health and car insurance.
Flooding the borders with people coming into the USA for free cheese has exacerbated the problem.
Things have gotten steadily worse since the covid and the Biden border treachery.
The worse the quality of living gets, the more people look for other answers that will not work either but they see as better than doing nothing or, they have just become lethargic that things will get better either way.
Just what the commies wanted. Soon we will be stuck with this crap.
yes
Yeah, that is true. I also know a lot of self-described liberals who are more conservative than some conservatives here!
This applies to a lot of Alabama’s black perennial democrats. Very religious and rural, but all voted for Kamala, Joe, Barrack, Kerry, Gore, Slick Willie, Dukaka, Mondale, Jimmy, etc...
Yes. What we have seen is a classical demonstration of the Overton Window Principle. And what they are often trying to do with polls like this (as propaganda tools) is the equivalent of the man below pushing the window of what is "acceptable" to the Left. This has been going on relentlessly (by the Left) with some success for decades.
Ask: “Should gov have total control over energy and healthcare?”
You will get a different result.
That is an unusual dynamic. I have come to view these people as somehow being invested in defeat, as they want to be the ones who will say "See? I TOLD you this was going to happen!"
That is the much easier and lazy approach to "success" and the need for validation than fighting for what hangs in the balance as a good.
I find it a twisted and perverted perspective, but I believe there are many people like that on the conservative side who have given up in that respect and embrace defeat, including many on this forum.
Sigh. I know. That is very disheartening. But then, I realize that is what they want. They want demoralized enemies, and I buck up and refuse to get sucked in by their gasbaggery and propagandizing.
I simply refuse. It is part of the fight.
Perhaps. I hope so.
If this is true, and accurate, we’re in MAJOR trouble!
In 1989, the vast majority of South Side country club Republicans in Fargo, ND supported a city-wide sales tax to build a domed stadium for the North Dakota State University football team.
As many post here suggest, the Republicans can be just a big spenders as the Democrats-the only difference is where the money is spent.
“I think it’s less about envy and more about public resentment of wealthy Americans buying influence in government.”
That’s valid, and I think both come into play. It seems that the response is different left vs. right. In my case, I see our politicians as the modern version of the mafia, totally corrupt, easily bought, and willing to do nearly anything. I loathe most of them. It seems to me, the left has decided they just need the right kind of politicians. Sadly, they’ve decided that socialists and communists are their salvation.
It’s because they conflated healthcare and energy. I’m willing to bet most Republicans don’t want government control of the energy sector. (Though in terms of oil supply and Iran atm how can we argue it shouldn’t be?)
“Entitlement and envy have spread throughout the country. Tax the rich resonates with the public. We are double timing our way to communism. The lessons of the past are irrelevant to modern Americans.”
Entitlement, envy, and worse. The country is fast becoming irreligious and amoral.
John Adams said, the Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is unfit for any other. Is this part of our problem today?
Shocker?!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The letter after the name means bugger all and hasn’t for a very long time.
A pol is either Deep State or MAGA.
I will vote for MAGA.
And if MAGA has a brain in its head it will stop fighting half a battle and find and run MAGA candidates for Dem primaries, too.
Donald Dems, folks, are why Deep State has to steal elections.
This isn’t that shocking when we have a republican president whose economic policies have increasingly shifted toward state capitalism and interventionism: requiring Intel to give the government a 10% stake in exchange for grants, securing a “golden share” veto in U.S. Steel, and dictating price caps.
There are a lot of “conservatives” who think we should do things like China does, they see how China’s economy has developed over the last 30 years, and they think adopting some of those policies over here is a good idea.
Tax the rich, workers rights and anti-corporate mindsets are rampant here on FR these days.
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