The evolution reflects a growing bipartisan agreement that American families are struggling and something has to change.
Democrats have long looked to the government to support their families through public programs and spending. Increasingly, Republicans want the same.
The details of how they want the government to help vary. But the growing bipartisan agreement reflects a belief among parents that American families are in crisis and something has to change.
In a variety of surveys in recent years, majorities of both Democrats and Republicans show support for family policies like paid leave, affordable child care and tax credits for parents. Large majorities are in agreement that the government should do more to regulate social media use for young people. And Americans think that K-12 education needs to be fixed.
The latest evidence is a poll of 1,300 parents released Monday by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit. In it, 73 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans said the federal government spends too little on programs that benefit children.
Even having a small majority of Republicans embrace government spending on children is a notable shift, analysts say. It’s a recognition that American families are struggling, especially those who are working class, a growing share of Republican voters. Most parents in the new survey said things were fair or poor for families like theirs. In a second survey released Monday by Common Sense, of 1,100 children ages 12 to 17, just 4 percent said things were excellent for families like theirs.
“I’m not surprised at all to see Republicans looking more like Democrats,” said Kristen Soltis Anderson, founding partner of Echelon Insights, a Republican polling firm that did the survey with Lake Research Partners, a Democratic pollster. “There’s a pretty strong consensus, especially among Republican women, that the status quo is not good.”