The business end of partisanship

Nothing is immune from being politicized in America today, including entire industries. That’s according to poll results published by Gallup last week that show significant differences in how Republicans and Democrats feel about entire business sectors. The greatest disparities relate to the movie industry, which 60 percent of Democrats view favorably compared with just 35 percent of Republicans. Views on the oil and gas industries are a close second in polarized views, with 50 percent of conservatives reporting positive feelings toward that industry compared with 27 percent of Democrats. Other darling industries for the Democrats include publishing (53 percent versus 37 percent) and education (61 percent versus 51 percent), while Republicans feel more positively about the electric and gas utility industries (51 percent versus 39 percent) and retail (58 percent versus 47 percent). Overall, respondents reported positive views toward nine of 25 industries included, the highest number since Gallup began asking in 2003.