Inside the Beltway: Politics could ‘destroy this country’

NEWS AND OPINION:

Americans no longer trust one another, and the phenomenon is intensifying. This is not good.

“Just 18% of the public has a great deal of trust and confidence in the American people as a whole when it comes to making judgments under our democratic system about the issues facing our country,” says a new Monmouth University poll which reveals that positive public perceptions about life in the United States are eroding — particularly the “united” aspect.

“A majority of the American public (52%) expresses a great deal of concern that the country would suffer lasting damage if people who hold core political principles different from their own were able to enact their policies. Majorities of Republicans (62%) and Democrats (54%) have a great deal of concern about the country suffering lasting damage if those with opposing political views were able to set policy, while 45% of independents feel the same,” the analysis says.

“There is an abiding belief by many Americans that ’the other side’ is not just wrong in their approach, but could actually destroy this country. This was a fringe view a generation ago,” advises Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Well yes. Once upon a time, Americans thought that only nuclear warheads could destroy America. Mr. Murray adds that all this negative sentiment is “built on a foundation of partisan hostility.”

The poll of 809 U.S. adults was conducted Jan. 21-24.

STRESSED, DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS

Speaking of partisan hostility, the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump doesn’t do much to soothe a troubled population, according to Dr. Carole Lieberman, a board-certified psychiatrist based in Beverly Hills, California.

“The trial will reflect poorly on the state of American democracy, and polls show that a majority of Americans are already disheartened by our government, especially since President Biden took office. The trial will impact Americans’ mental health because it illustrates how Congress is still self-absorbed with bullying Trump instead of addressing the many problems that everyday Americans are more concerned with — such as the economy and COVID-19. This will cause people to feel stressed, depressed, anxious, helpless and hopeless,” Dr. Lieberman tells Inside the Beltway.

And what about all the trial hubbub on Capitol Hill?

“Trial No. 2 will not get as much attention as it would have if former President Trump was going to attend. If Trump would be there, Republicans would watch, hoping to see him smile as the impeachment failed, and Democrats would watch, hoping to see him squirm and look defeated. But, if he stays absent, as he has said he would, most Americans won’t be as drawn to the proceedings,” Dr. Lieberman predicts.

“It does seem a fait accompli that Trump will be acquitted. But, nonetheless, there will still be a fair share of Americans who will pay attention because there is the expectation that videos will be shown of people from both parties inciting riots — and this should make entertaining political theater,” she adds.

WITNESS TO THE BORDER

Former President Donald Trump once dreamed of a “big, beautiful wall” on the southwestern border of the U.S. to keep illegal immigration in check. Things have changed now that President Biden is in charge, prompting Rachel del Guidice — a congressional reporter for The Daily Signal — to journey to Arizona with nine House Republicans lead by Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

Ms. del Guidice returned from the region and reported what she encountered in a new story titled “With Work Stopped, 7 Things I Saw at the Border Wall.”

Those things include idle construction equipment, gaps in the border wall, stark sections of “old wall” and “new wall,” and area schools “locked down because of drug cartels.”

The reporter spoke with ranchers worried about their own safety, and described spotting the “snagged clothes of climbers” who had scaled the border barriers. Ms. del Guidice also witnessed “concerned law enforcement” in the region.

Sgt. Tim Williams, a sheriff’s deputy in Cochise County, told her that the safety of his community is now at stake following Mr. Biden’s order to halt wall construction. He described the region “one of the biggest smuggling corridors” in the area.

“This is going to allow the illegal immigrants to come across the border, get onto that roadway that was built, and get into the United States — even easier than what it was before,” the officer said.

’REMAIN IN PLACE’

Here’s one suggestion about those aforementioned porous borders — a tense situation not helped by President Biden’s “America last immigration policy,” says Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

The number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally now stands at 14.5 million, an increase driven, Mr. Stein says, by the Biden administration’s reimagined immigration protocols plus their promises of amnesty and public benefits for the newcomers.

“American families have been put into lockdown for nearly a year now, hoping for a return to normalcy. It’s also important to note that both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization are discouraging traveling during the pandemic. Those seeking admission as asylum seekers into the U.S. should be asked to remain in place until this health crisis, soon to claim 500,000 American lives, passes,” Mr. Stein advises.

POLL DU JOUR

• 58% of U.S. adults rate their nation’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has been “bad”; 39% of British adults say the same about their nation, as do 34% of French adults and 21% of German adults.

• 44% of U.S. adults say COVID-19 has changed their life “a great deal”; 39% of British adults, 34% of French adults and 21% of German adults agree.

• 30% of Americans say the pandemic has changed their lives “a fair amount”; 31% of Britons, 33% of the French and 26% of Germans agree.

• 18% of Americans say the pandemic has changed their lives “not too much”; 24% of Britons, 19% of French and 37% of Germans agree.

• 8% of Americans say the pandemic has “not at all” changed their lives; 6% of Britons, 15% of French and 15% of Germans agree.

Source: A Pew Research poll of 1,003 U.S. adults, 1,003 British adults, 1,021 French adults and 1,042 German adults conducted Nov. 12-Dec. 13 and released Feb. 3.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.