11 Search Publications About the Center Contact Us Support the Center Publications of the Center for Security Policy No. In addition, some 63 percent of Democrats polled likewise responded in favor of missile defense, as did a full 70 percent of African-Americans and 72 percent of women . More than 4 in 5 Republicans want a missile defense system developed, and nearly two-thirds of Democrats and independents believe the United States should build a missile defense system.
Women are slightly more in favor of developing a missile defense system than men.
Majority support for this national antiterrorist missile defense system extends across every geographic area, every ideological group, every age group tested, and is equally solid among African-Americans and whites. Confirmation of Previous Opinion Research McLaughlin's results broadly confirm the findings of earlier polls and focus groups concerning the missile defense issue. Only eight percent of the electorate was then opposed to such a deployment. The fact that this poll registered even larger majorities in favor of deploying missile defense than the McLaughlin survey may have been attributable to the fact that, in 1998, the respondents were first asked whether they thought the U.S. military could destroy a missile if one were launched at this country. Insofar as there has still not been a sustained, nationwide effort mounted to expose the public to the full extent of their vulnerability to missile attack, it is entirely possible that the McLaughlin data actually understates how strong the American people's support for anti-missile defenses would actually be if so informed.