Pundits say that America is mad with the government this election cycle, and that informs how they will vote.
The Cook Political Report examined this theory and found that Americans are no more “angry at government” now than they were before:
In fact, according to data from the Pew Research Center, the percent of Americans who say they are “angry at the federal government” has remained rather consistent over the last six years, ranging from a high of 32 percent in October 2013, to a low of 13 percent in March 2011. Today, 22 percent of Americans say they are “angry.” Even when asked their feelings about the broader category of “politics” just 21 percent say they are angry.
So, why the obsession with anger? Well, like just about everything else we talk about this year, it has an association with Donald J. Trump. Among Trump supporters, Pew found in March, 50 percent said they were angry with the federal government. Forty percent said they were angry with politics. Meanwhile, just 30 percent of Cruz and 18 percent of Kasich backers described themselves as angry with government. Even those who support Sanders, who is often described as the angry candidate on the left, are not any angrier about “politics today” than Clinton supporters are – 18 percent to 14 percent.
Americans are – and quite frankly have been for a while – frustrated. According to the same Pew data, 57 percent of Americans consider themselves “frustrated” with the federal government. But, this 57 percent isn’t that out of the ordinary either. In fact, since 1997, a majority of Americans – between 51 percent and 62 percent – have described themselves as frustrated. The one dip, of course, was in the immediate wake of 9/11.
So how does anger/frustration affect the vote?
[P]eople who are angry with government (21 percent of all voters) have their candidate – Trump. People who are content with government (20 percent of all voters) have theirs – Clinton. But, for the vast majority who are frustrated, Clinton has a small edge. Or more accurately, those who are frustrated with government view Trump more negatively than they do Clinton.
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There is a racial component to this as well. The ones who tend to be angry are the white voter, while black voters seem to be more content. Party and education level make a difference.
Point being, that different groups of people are angry, other groups are frustrated, and they might be angry/frustrated at different things. Or as Cook says:
Trump’s anger message has limited appeal. But, with most Americans disappointed in both the direction of the country as well as the frustrated with government in general, a “stay the course” message isn’t a winning one for Clinton. The challenge for the media is to avoid characterizing those voters who are throwing chairs or punches as typical. Or that what frustrates or challenges Americans is universal. It looks different to different groups of Americans. There is no “real America” but a series of real Americas. Americans are indeed looking for change, and frustrated with the system. But, please stop saying they are all angry.