A NEW POLL SUGGESTS THAT QANON IS THE FUTURE OF THE GOP

Yesterday, CBS and YouGov released the results of a survey of self-identified Republicans.

The key points: 80% of survey respondents who'd heard about Liz Cheney's removal from a leadership position in the House approved of the ouster. Given the choice of sounding like Trump cultists or merely loyal Republicans, they slightly favored the latter (52% said the ouster was good because Cheney "did not support Donald Trump," while 57% said it was good because "she's wrong about the election" and 69% say it's because she's "not on message with the party"; multiple responses were allowed). Loyalty to Trump is important according to 66% of the respondents; 67% of them think Joe Biden didn't win the 2020 election legitimately, but only 37% claim it's very important for Republican officials and candidates to support claims of election fraud (31% consider it "somewhat important"). They say it's more important for officials and candidates to propose important legislation, agree with them on economic issues, and agree on "culture and values." (Since "culture and values" probably means "hating immigrants, liberals, and the media," I'm sure they're telling the truth about the latter.)

Only 9% thought it was "very important" for Republican officials and candidates to "support the ideas of QAnon," while 20% said it was "somewhat important" -- but here's where it gets interesting. Among respondents aged 65 and older, 24% thought it was important to be aligned with QAnon. The number dips to 21% in the 45-64 age group.

But among younger Republicans, QAnon is much more important: 41% of those aged 30 to 44, and 44% of under-30s, said it was very important or somewhat important for Republican officials and candidates to support QAnon's ideas.

This is just one poll. But it suggests that the GOP isn't just the party of old white people who watch Fox -- it's also the party of younger white people who believe conspiracy theories they found on Facebook.

There's a difference based on age in response to another question: the one on loyalty to Trump. Among seniors, 73% think loyslty to Trump is very or somewhat important, a number that drops only slightly, to 69%, among those aged 45 to 64. But in the under-30 and 30-44 groups, the number declines to 59%. This suggests that, while they love Trump, they seem to love him somewhat less than their elders -- and like QAnon more. That could be the party's future.