Poll: Americans Reject Class Warfare Talk by Obama, Occupy Wall Street

Rob Bluey
December 16, 2011 at 4:07 pm

A new poll from Gallup suggests that President Obama’s class warfare argument and the Occupy Wall Street movement are failing to resonate with Americans — and might actually be backfiring.

The new survey reveals that Americans today are less likely to think of the country as divided into “haves” and “have nots” as compared to when Obama ran for office in 2008. That campaign featured the Obama’s “spread the wealth around” rhetoric and followed former Democrat vice presidential candidate John Edwards’ talk of “two Americas.”

Americans were equally divided when asked the question in 2008. Now, a majority of 58 percent reject that view of American society — despite Obama’s high-profile speeches and the media’s coverage of Occupy Wall Street.

Gallup’s chart:

Gallup’s analysis:

The shift, documented by a Gallup poll conducted Nov. 28-Dec. 1, is noteworthy in that it came after 3½ years of economic turmoil in which more Americans have become unemployed and more have become negative about their personal finances. The current poll was also conducted as the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to focus on the disparities between the wealthiest 1% of Americans and everyone else.

The poll also shows that Americans want Washington to address other issues besides income inequality. The economy takes clear priority over Obama’s “wealth gap” argument.

This same Gallup survey found 64% of Americans believe big government is the biggest threat to the country. Heritage’s Mike Brownfield reported on that finding earlier this week.