CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Wednesday emphasized that Democrats have increasingly wanted their elected leaders to “stand on principle” even if it meant a government shutdown.
Enten — while highlighting a Marist University survey taken just ahead of the ongoing government shutdown — pointed out that 47% of Democrats indicated it was more important for members of Congress to stand on principle than to compromise to avoid a shutdown.
That’s “more than double” and “nearly triple” the percentage of Democrats (18%) who indicated that lawmakers should stand by their principles in a Pew Research Center poll conducted before the 2013 shutdown, Enten added.
Back in 2013, 76% of Democrats wanted a compromise to avoid a shutdown while 52% of Democrats wanted the same this year.
“What we’re seeing is a Democratic Party that is much more so than ever before saying, ‘You know what, let’s shut down the government even if it means no compromise so that we can stand on principle,’” Enten said in a segment with CNN’s Kate Bolduan.
As the spending standoff between Republicans and Democrats continues, lawmakers in the latter party are pushing to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Beyond Democrats, Enten said that Americans, in general, were willing to go to a shutdown “more so than ever before.”
Enten — citing the recent Marist survey — pointed to a near “even split” of Americans who wanted a compromise (50%) and wanted lawmakers to stand on principle (49%) ahead of the ongoing shutdown.
The latest figures indicate a decrease in those who sought a compromise in 2013 (57%) and a notable increase in those who wanted lawmakers to stand by their principles (33%) ahead of that year’s shutdown.
Later in the segment, Enten — when asked by Bolduan how long the latest shutdown could last — turned his attention to the 2018-19 government shutdown that lasted 35 days during Trump’s first term.
“We’re seeing now a Democratic Party that’s much more likely to dig in and you have that Republican Party that has pretty much always been over the last decade very likely to dig in,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we reached this record or go even further. Of course, time will tell.”