Friends,
What is your
opinion of the conclusions sent out by Timmon Wallis? I am a bit skeptical of
the conclusion that there is “strong support for the elimination of nuclear
weapons.” Let me know your thoughts on the polling results.
This conclusion “49% of Americans think that the US should work
with the other nuclear armed countries to eliminate all nuclear weapons from
all countries” was from an online survey in 2019. I believe an online survey
eliminates those who are unsophisticated with computers, and would possibly
lean more to a right-wing perspective.
Only 45% polled
in 2016 approved of cutting the number of nuclear weapons the United
States has? This is not strong support.
US-Russian Arms Control Treaties -- More than eight in ten favor
the US continuing to have arms control treaties with Russia, with support among
Republicans comparable to that of Democrats. This was concluded after
2019 polling. Trump has a 45% approval
Rating. I have trouble believing many of his supporters
would approve of any nuclear weapons cuts.
Kagiso,
Max
Timmon Wallis <timmon.wallis@gmail.com>
Tue, Sep 24, 2019 at 12:32 PM
Americans want abolition of nuclear weapons, not just limitations!
Tue, Sep 24, 2019 at 12:32 PM
Americans want abolition of nuclear weapons, not just limitations!
New US poll shows strong
support for elimination of all nuclear weapons
September
23, 2019: A NuclearBan.US poll, conducted on its
behalf this week[1] by YouGov, reveals that 49% of
Americans think that the US should work with the other nuclear armed countries
to eliminate all nuclear weapons from all countries, in line with the 2017 UN
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (“Nuclear Ban Treaty”). Only 32%
think that the US should continue to ignore the new treaty and hold on to its
nuclear weapons regardless of what other countries think or do, while a further
19% say they “don't know”.
Among
Democrats, the figures are 70% in favor of working to eliminate all nuclear
weapons versus 17% for holding onto them no matter what. Among Republicans, 57%
are for holding onto nuclear weapons while only 30% want to eliminate them
all. Overall, strongest support for the elimination of all nuclear weapons
comes from women (52%), those aged 55 or over (53%), those on the West Coast
(54%), Hispanics (56%), those with a four year college degree (61%)
and those who voted for Clinton in 2016 (74%).
Previous
polls have focused on the level of public support for specific nuclear weapons
policies, such as the ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons, a further reduction in
stockpile numbers of nuclear weapons or other policy changes short of actually
getting rid of these weapons altogether. These other polls may have
inadvertently served to weaken support in the US for the new treaty, agreed by
122 countries at the United Nations in 2017.
A
2016 poll by YouGov and Huffington Post,[2] for instance, showed that a clear
50% of Americans supported the US using nuclear weapons “only in response to a
nuclear attack.” This poll has been used extensively to argue that campaigning
groups should focus their efforts on promoting a policy of ‘no first use’ because
there is clear public support for this.
A
more recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland in May 2019[3] tried
to gauge opinion on a number of fairly complex nuclear weapons policy
questions. Among their many findings was that 74% of Democrats support
a bill limiting presidential first use of nuclear weapons. Once again, this has
been used as an argument in favor of focusing efforts on this very specific
policy initiative.
What
we now know from the most recent poll is that almost as many Americans support
the total elimination of all nuclear weapons as support more limited policy
objectives like ‘no first use.’ And almost as many Democrats support the total
elimination of all nuclear weapons as support the bill limiting presidential
first use of nuclear weapons. This is a hugely important finding. It means that
campaigners can now focus on the real goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from
the face of the earth, knowing that very close to half of all
Americans support them, as do nearly three-quarters of those likely to
vote for a new president in the next election.
Contact:
Timmon Wallis, Executive Director
NuclearBan.US
59
Gleason Road, Northampton, MA 01060
________________________________________
[1]
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample
size was 1355 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 23rd
September 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been
weighted and are politically representative of all US adults (aged
18+).
[2] https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/08/11/poll-results-nuclear-weapons
-- polling down in 2016
[3] http://www.publicconsultation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nuclear_Weapons_Report_0519.pdf
– polling done in 2019
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
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