Do DelVal Dems Have a Patriotism Problem?

A recent Gallup poll finds Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to say they are ‘extremely proud’ to be an American. But local Delaware Valley Democrats insist they’re on par with the GOP when it comes to patriotism.

Released just ahead of Independence Day, the survey found 59 percent of Republicans describe themselves as “extremely proud,” compared to 36 percent of independents and just 34 percent of Democrats.

“The 25-point gap in extreme pride between Republicans and Democrats today is similar to the 28-point average gap since 2001,” wrote Gallup Senior Editor Megan Brenan.

Overall, American pride has dropped across party lines since Gallup first began tracking the sentiment in 2001.

For Republicans, the current figure is the lowest since 2022. Democrats, meanwhile, are up from a record low of 22 percent in 2019, and higher than they were during the Biden-Harris administration.

In 2003, 86 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Democrats said they were “extremely proud” to be American.

Some Republicans in the Delaware Valley say the numbers reflect deep cultural divisions.

“Most Americans and almost all Republicans see America as great but imperfect,” Guy Ciarrocchi, a Chester County-based commentator and strategist, told DVJournal.

Ciarrocchi said progressives and recent college graduates see America as “fundamentally flawed” and demand radical changes to address the problems they see.

He quipped, “How could they be happy?”

GOP strategist Christopher Nicholas of Eagle Consulting Group likened the poll results to Mark Twain’s quote that patriotism means supporting your country “all of the time and your government when it deserves it.”

“Perhaps more people disagree with that now,” said Nicholas.

DelVal Democrats bristled at the suggestion the poll results mean they don’t love their country.

“Far too many of our perceptions of patriotism are driven by the person occupying the White House,” said T.J. Rooney, a longtime Pennsylvania Democratic strategist.

Public relations executive Larry Ceisler agreed. He told DVJournal the poll was essentially another way of asking whether Americans had a favorable or unfavorable view of the Trump administration.

“If they would have asked that same question during the Biden administration, the numbers would be the same, except they’d be flipped,” said Ceisler. “That’s what happens when you have the kind of political divide we’re living in today.”

Rooney told DVJournal the bigger issue was how the question was phrased.

While the GOP regularly holds a lead over Democrats on patriotism and military family questions, he said Democrats poll better when asked about military housing conditions and programs supporting military families.

“I think this also represents the fact that Democrats are more inclined to stand up to unchecked power than Republicans,” said Rooney.

At the same time, the poll showed Americans are still glad to be in the country.

Twenty-eight percent of Democrats, 26 percent of Republicans, and 24 percent of independents said they were “very proud” to an American. Seven percent of independents, five percent of Democrats, and one percent of Republicans claimed to be not proud at all of the country.