The Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati has released some polling data on affirmative action that bode ill for Bill Clinton in November.
Researchers who analyzed national surveys between 1986 and 1994 and Ohio statewide surveys from 1995 and 1996 concluded that “candidates who favor racial preferences may fare poorly at the polls. For that reason, Democratic politicians might be well-advised to avoid a campaign fought on racial preferences.” Among whites in Ohio, 79 percent opposed racial preferences in hiring and promotion — 55 percent “strongly,” while 24 percent either opposed preferences “not strongly” or “leaned toward opposing” them. Among black Ohioans, 49 percent favored preferences; 41 percent opposed them. And while 44 percent of swing voters in Ohio said affirmative action would not affect their vote, “significantly more of the remaining swing voters say they would vote against [a pro-racial-preference] candidate than would vote for her/him (35 percent to 21 percent).”
Nationally, fully 58 percent of white Democrats “strongly” oppose racial preferences in the workplace. So do 74 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of independents, Researchers also analyzed whether “racism explains whites” opinions about affirmative action.” They found that even a “large portion of those most committed to egalitarianism still oppose racial preferences in the marketplace.” Forty-five percent of self-described “very egalitarian” whites “strongly” oppose such preferences, as do 60 percent of ” slightly egalitarian” whites. Seems it’s not just bigots from the far-right fringe who’ve had their fill of quotas.
