Facing historical levels of bias in America’s electoral institutions, liberals (lowercase “l”) should see polls as a partial remedy for entrenched political minorities
Do you think polling should play a more direct role in government? It seems like there's been very little structural change within democratic governments in response to the advent of widespread, reliable polling. To my understanding, the US government hasn't even set up its own polling operation, even though it seems natural that kind of information ought to be included in congressional research. Perhaps we should have a dedicated polling division within the Congressional Research Service?
Even more radically, it's not difficult to conceive of ways in which polling could be used to directly affect the behavior of Congress. Perhaps declarations of war should first require that a supermajority of the population supports it, as evidenced by reliable polls? Or even more assertively, perhaps Congress should be mandated to craft legislation if polls indicate large majorities support a particular policy position, as is the case with universal background checks? I'm just spitballing wild ideas but given your view that polls are a "necessary tool in our democracy" I wonder if you see an expanded role for them in government?
Do you think polling should play a more direct role in government? It seems like there's been very little structural change within democratic governments in response to the advent of widespread, reliable polling. To my understanding, the US government hasn't even set up its own polling operation, even though it seems natural that kind of information ought to be included in congressional research. Perhaps we should have a dedicated polling division within the Congressional Research Service?
Even more radically, it's not difficult to conceive of ways in which polling could be used to directly affect the behavior of Congress. Perhaps declarations of war should first require that a supermajority of the population supports it, as evidenced by reliable polls? Or even more assertively, perhaps Congress should be mandated to craft legislation if polls indicate large majorities support a particular policy position, as is the case with universal background checks? I'm just spitballing wild ideas but given your view that polls are a "necessary tool in our democracy" I wonder if you see an expanded role for them in government?