Voter nostalgia for harmony, balance

Exit polls in the U.S. election hint at a strong desire for a balanced economy and civic peace. 

|
AP
A woman entertains her son as a man fills out a ballot on Election Day in Hazelwood, Mo.

America’s presidential elections are a great survey of public opinion as well as a call to action. Yet while Donald Trump won both the popular vote and the Electoral College on Nov. 5, it could be that the exit polls will drive the course of his second term.

The theme of those polls? Americans seek a restoration of past norms of balance or harmony – balance in the economy for Trump supporters and, for those who voted for Kamala Harris, harmony in democratic norms.

Among the third of voters who identified the economy as their primary concern, 79% chose Mr. Trump, according to Edison Research’s exit polls. More specifically, 73% who see inflation as a severe hardship voted for the Republican candidate. They want to bring prices back to prepandemic levels and lower their higher cost of living.

For those who chose Ms. Harris, a majority are worried far more about the state of democracy than about the economy. They seek the civility and rule of law that were more common before Mr. Trump’s first term.

The president-elect thanked “the American people” for his victory and added, “We’re going to help our country heal.” That sentiment, if followed, would be a step toward those desires for balance and harmony.

That rare upbeat and unifying message pointed to another aspect of the exit polls: About 6 in 10 voters say the country’s best days are ahead.

In 11 key states, inflation dominated the concerns of voters. While the rate of price increases is now low – about 2% – the persistence of high prices from gasoline to housing drove many people to vote for the GOP candidate. Credit card debt, for example, was at a historic high in August as inflated prices have pushed people to charge more when buying everyday items.

“With inflation and two wars raging abroad, many voters fondly recalled a pre-pandemic world that was mostly at peace and economically prosperous under Trump,” wrote journalist Michael Hirsh in Foreign Policy.

Many economists say Mr. Trump’s proposed policies, such as tariffs on imported goods, could increase inflation. The exit polls offer the opportunity to temper his agenda and acknowledge the desire of nearly half the voters to restore democratic norms. Merely offering to help the country heal was a first step.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Voter nostalgia for harmony, balance
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2024/1106/Voter-nostalgia-for-harmony-balance
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe