Democrats At War With Their Voters Over Gaza
As the conflict rages on, polls show Democratic politicians are sharply out of step with their base
New polling from Quinnipiac is shedding light on just how disconnected the Democratic Party is from its own voters on the issue of Israel and Gaza as the conflict slowly approaches its second anniversary.
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The poll found Americans are nearly evenly split between Israelis and Palestinians when it comes to whose side they sympathize with, at 36 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
Independents are somewhat similar in that regard, with 40 percent saying they sympathize more with the Palestinians, while 32 percent say the same for Israelis. Democrats overwhelmingly side with the Palestinians at 63 percent, compared to only 13 percent who say they feel more on Israel's side.
That sympathy for the Palestinians among Democrats has only grown over time as the Israeli government continues its campaign against civilians in Gaza.
As a result, it is unsurprising that Americans are split on whether America is being too supportive of Israel at 40 percent or providing the right amount of support at 42 percent, while a small fraction say America is not being supportive enough at 9 percent.
Democrats overwhelmingly believe America is being too supportive of Israel, with 63 percent agreeing and only 9 percent saying there is not enough support going to the Israeli state. Independents are split again, with 42 percent saying there is too much support for Israel and 41 percent saying the level of support is appropriate.
However, there is no competition when it comes to whether Americans believe the United States should send more military aid to Israel. Among all respondents, 32 percent support sending more military aid to Israel in its efforts against Hamas, while a strong majority of 60 percent oppose the idea.
Opposition to more military aid is highest among Democrats, at 75 percent. This raises questions about why many Democrats in the House and Senate still appear eager to send more weapons to Israel for use against civilians in Gaza.
Even Independents are strongly opposed to sending additional military aid to Israel, with 66 percent against it and just over a quarter in support.
Democratic opposition to sending more weapons likely ties into the perception of whether the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza. When asked that question, an overwhelming 77 percent of Democrats agree that Israel is committing genocide, while only 11 percent say no genocide is occurring.
Just over half of Independents also agree that genocide is occurring in Gaza, in line with the overall American public, although disagreement in both groups sits at 34 percent and 35 percent respectively.
Democrats face a long road before they can regain the trust of the American people, not to mention their own base, which they are currently in open conflict with.
With organizations like AIPAC exerting influence over a number of Democratic politicians, it is unsurprising that many of those politicians have shown deep reluctance to take concrete actions against the Israeli government. These politicians are likely to face primary challenges from pro-Palestinian candidates next year, but whether AIPAC donations will protect them remains to be seen.
Democrats are angry at their party on this issue in particular, and that anger should not be underestimated by politicians who think they can ignore their own voters and assume their support of Israeli policy will go unchallenged.
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