A recent Fox News polled found that a majority of Democratic voters who responded say they prefer socialism to capitalism.
In a poll conducted from Aug. 7 to 10, 59% of registered Democratic voters said they had a positive view of socialism, while just 49% said they felt the same way about capitalism.
The results showed a significant change in Democratic respondents in just over a year. In February 2020, the same question was asked, and 50% of Democrats who participated said they had a favorable view of capitalism, with just 40% saying the same about socialism.
The new poll reported that 44% of Democrats had an unfavorable view of capitalism, while just 31% had a negative view of socialism. Of Republicans participating in the poll, 67% said they viewed capitalism favorably, and only 8% had a favorable view of socialism.
There is a trend toward socialism among Democrats. Self-described ''democratic socialist'' Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and others have had a growing influence on Democratic politics. Sanders, as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, has been leading a charge to pass a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, followed by a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Sanders has said both measures are aimed at addressing wealth inequality.
Prominent Republicans, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, strongly disagree. ''It’s a gateway to socialism,'' she told Newsmax earlier this week. "In my opinion, it's not enough about infrastructure. [It] is too expensive. It's a down payment on the Green New Deal.''
Her colleague Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., uses the same term to describe what’s going on with these measures. Marshall told Newsmax that "immediately after the passage of the infrastructure bill, Senate Democrats started pushing through a $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget bill."
He pointed out that Democrats won't need any Republican votes to push that through.
"That's socialism," Marshall said of the larger bill. "When they talk about human infrastructure, that's code for socialism, and we haven't talked about the tax increase. ... They're coming after your pocketbook. You better grab it ... and cover your pocketbook."
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