RCOR Poll: Bad News re: Free Speech, and Some Good

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Republicans, men, and olds are mostly committed to free speech...though less than I'd like. 

Democrats are a wreck. Women are wobbly. The kids are not alright.

Republican voters (74%) and independents (61%) believe speech should be legal “under any circumstances, while Democrats are almost evenly divided. A bare majority of Democrats (53%) say speech should be legal under any circumstances, while 47% say it should be legal “only under certain circumstances.”
Nearly one-third of Democratic voters (34%) say Americans have “too much freedom.” This compared to 14.6% of Republicans. Republicans were most likely to say Americans have too little freedom (46%), while only 22% of Democrats feel that way. Independents were in the middle in both categories.
Although majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agree the news media should be able to report stories they believe are in the national interest, this consensus shifts when it comes to social media censorship. A majority of Democrats (52%) approve of the government censoring social media content under the rubric of protecting national security. Among Republicans and independents, this percentage is only one-third.
Poll respondents were read this statement: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Only 31% of Democratic voters “strongly agreed” with that sentiment, compared to 51% of Republicans.
Fully three-fourths of Democrats believe government has a responsibility to limit “hateful” social media posts, while Republicans are more split, with 50% believing the government has a responsibility to restrict hateful posts. (Independents, once again, are in the middle.)
Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to favor stifling the free speech rights of political extremists. Also, Republicans don’t vary by the group: Only about half of GOP voters favor censorship — whether asked about the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, or the Communist Party. [My emphases]

One encouraging finding: Republican opposition to censorship seems principle-based and content neutral (whereas Dems tend to favor censoring speakers based on the content and political valence of their message). 

   One of the most surprisingly things about the bizarre political shakeup of the last...uh...five to forty (?) years is the parties' switching valence on this issue. Back in the day, it was Dems championing free speech, and Pubs pushing for nutty things like anti-flag-burning legislation, prayer in schools, and mandatory Pledge of Allegiance...