Terry Jones writes for Issues and Insights about interesting new polling data involving Trump administration actions involving energy access.
The arrest of narco-dictator Nicolas Maduro, the quarantine imposed on Venezuela’s oil industry and the collapse of the European Union’s “renewable energy” strategy all have raised a big question in the minds of many Americans: What role should foreign energy play in our policy efforts?
This month’s I&I/TIPP Poll’s online national survey of 1,478 adults, taken from Jan. 6 to Jan 9, provides a very clear answer: Access to foreign crude oil and other energy sources is very important to a majority of Americans. The poll’s margin of error is +/-2.9 percentage points.
Specifically, I&I/TIPP asked the following question: “How important is it for the United States to secure reliable access to foreign energy supplies, including oil, to protect the U.S. economy?”
Overall, 69% said it was either “very important” (36%) or “somewhat important” (33%). The “not important” category gathered just 19% backing, with 12% saying it was “not too important” and 7% saying it was “not at all important.” Another 12% said they weren’t sure.
So, by a rough ratio of 7-to-2, American voters want to maintain access to foreign energy, including oil, and see it as critical for protecting the U.S. economy.
Moreover, there appears to be extraordinary unity about maintaining access to oil supplies among all 36 major demographic groups. A hefty majority in all groups described access as “important”: That includes men (71%) and women (67%), white (69%) and black/Hispanic (70%), and urban dwellers (75%), suburbanites (63%) and rural Americans (74%). Solid majorities of Democrats (62%), Republicans (83%), and independents (61%) also agree, making it a politically popular policy path. Americans disagree on many things, but seem to draw the line at policies that will starve the U.S. economy of the energy it needs to thrive.
