Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen, who surveyed opinions among Occupy Wall Street protesters, published the results today in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Among his most interesting findings was that nearly half the protesters actually support the 2008 bank bailouts. Some 49% said the bailouts were necessary, while the other 51% said they were unnecessary.
The poll also found that only 15% of the protesters were unemployed (the national average is 9.1%). More than half (52%) were previously involved in political movements, and 65% favor universal health care and free college tuition. Additionally, 31% are okay with violence if it advances their goals.
Based on the survey responses, Schoen concludes that the OWS protesters are “an unrepresentative segment of the electorate that believes in radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience and, in some instances, violence.” He recommends that Democrats distance themselves from the protesters, or risk further alienation of moderates and independents in the 2012 election.
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