Focus group stuns CBS News host with bipartisan agreement on nearly every issue: 'None of you are very optimistic'

Margaret Brennan, moderator of CBS News' "Face the Nation," was shocked Sunday that a bipartisan focus group agreed woke policies are bad news for children.

In fact, the focus group essentially agreed with one another on every issue.

What happened?

When Brennan asked the group for their biggest concern about raising children in America, they agreed it is far-left woke culture.

"All these elementary schools and middle schools having woke culture pushed on them from the LGBT+ community for sexual identity and gender. We should be pushing the actual school studies — math, social studies, science — not gender studies or sexual identification," John, a Republican, said.

Lashawn, a Democrat with eight children, agreed.

"I can also agree with some of his points. I really will say sex education — I feel like some things, you know, are brought to the children's attention they wouldn't even think about," Lashawn said. "The children, they're really influenced. You can teach them one thing at home, but when they go to school, they're just as much influenced by their teachers and their surroundings. And we should have more input — the parents — of what we want them to learn."

"I agree," Stephanie, an independent voter, responded.

Focus group: "Pressured parents" on their midterm prioritieswww.youtube.com

The group also raised concern over various other issues, especially the economy.

Stephanie described the state of the economy as "scary," Lashawn called it "unstable," and John condemned it as "horrible."

"You have to just adjust. It's not just the, you know, heating, the cost of living, the electricity, everything is just— it's just really hard," Lashawn said of high inflation and economic woes.

The panel also said crime, immigration, and the impacts of COVID lockdown policies are among their top concerns. Their feelings, in fact, confirm what polls show: The majority of Americans are not worried about abortion rights, but about the economy, crime, and immigration — issues that affect everyday life.

How did Brennan react?

The moderator expressed shock over the group's agreement despite their ideological differences.

"Often when we do these focus groups, we have people from different party affiliations disagreeing with each other," Brennan said.

"But I'm hearing all of you echo a lot of the same concerns and agreeing with each other," she observed. "None of you are very optimistic about the country right now."