Nearly all voters are united by one thing: They're really, really angry

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 4 November 2015

You'll be hard pressed to find something Democrats, Republicans, men, women, Asian-Americans, whites, Hispanics, college graduates, non-college attendees, and people of both the lowest and highest income brackets can all agree on. But, following a study conducted by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, there is, in fact, one thing nearly everyone has in common: Anger about the political system.

In fact, nearly seven out of 10 Americans agree with the statement, "I feel angry because our political system seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power, like those on Wall Street or in Washington, rather than it working to help everyday people get ahead." Another 42 percent said that statement defines how they feel "very well." The majorities of many different demographics, who can otherwise find little common ground, identified with the statement.

Even so, some groups were more outraged than others: Democrats were angrier than Republicans, with 77 percent of Dems expressing their anger compared to 66 percent of Republican primary voters. And, when it came to statements like, "I feel proud that America continues to make progress as a tolerant nation that over the past generation made significant steps to protect the rights of African Americans, changed how we view the role of women, and today has moved to accept gay and lesbian marriage," things went back to usual: No one could agree.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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