Public opinion polling, at least as reported in the media, seems to focus on single issues, voter attitudes towards them, and the likely effect they will have on general elections. The recent midterms were defined by the media as a referendum on abortion and little else. The outcome of the 2024 presidential campaign has been said to depend on the mood of pro-choice and anti abortion activists. Climate change and the southern border are two more single issues presumed to be the realms of rock solid single issue voters who will favor only candidates who agree to their non-negotiable terms and conditions. At least for the moment, news media is hyping public angst over the border and immigration, which only adds to single issue divisiveness.
I don’t believe the American voting public is so narrow minded. At the same time, I have dozens of acquaintances who are so dedicated to one iron clad position on one controversial issue that it will determine their vote no matter what else is at stake. How many among all voters are like that? I have no idea but imagine two things. First, candidates can be lured into pursuing their favored single issue voters to the exclusion of the majority of voters and the general interests of constituencies. Second, there could be enough single issue voters whose self-righteous intransigence is sufficient to assure the election of candidates who will do no good for democracy or the greater needs of the nation.
I recognize, if not fully understand, the passion some voters have for a single issue. Each is of real importance to the country as a whole and worthy of advocates who will devote time and energy in pursuing a resolution leading to a better society for all. But passion is taken too far when the world is divided into allies, enemies, and ignorant fools who don’t know what’s right. It goes too far when righteous indignation turns to violence rather than enduring the cost of radical civil disobedience. It goes too far when dissenting voices are silenced by prohibitions of free speech, which, parenthetically, is never a freedom without restriction.
Why is it so easy to believe there are only two alternatives: fight like hell or lay down like a door mat and let others stomp on you? It seems to be the mindset of single issue voters and it can never lead to the common good. But, one might object, what about the single mindedness of a Martin Luther King, Jr? He and other civil rights leaders were indeed singleminded but not about single issues. For the common good of the nation, they were adamant about the particular rights of blacks, other people of color and the poor in general. They were single minded in non-violence and paid the price for it. They were single minded about entering honest conversation with anyone and everyone. Single issue voters, to the contrary, sit on their self righteous stools, refuse to move for anyone, and don’t give a damn about what else is happening as long as their issue is resolved according to their non-negotiable demands.
Divisive single issue politics do not stand on their own. They are supported by a complex network of racial and ethnic prejudices, corporate self-interests, and political movements such as Christian nationalism, isolationism, what Heather Cox Richardson calls movement conservatives, and others whose immovable adherents come from the extremes of the political spectrum and a sizable body of the gullible. What is difficult to keep in mind is that crackpot positions on issues do not mean the issues are crackpot. Some may be but the majority have validity that must be taken seriously by those who would lead progress on their resolution through our democratic processes.