What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending July 5, 2013

Americans still share the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence 237 years ago and remain wary of too much government. It’s clear, too, that many aren’t happy with the government they’ve got.

Eighty-one percent (81%) believe “all men are created equal.” Ninety-two percent (92%) agree that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Seventy-two percent (72%) believe “governments derive their only just powers from the consent of the governed.”

But just 25% of voters think the federal government today has that consent.

More Americans than ever (63%) think a government that is too powerful is a bigger danger in the world today than one that is not powerful enough.

Thirty-eight percent (38%) believe the U.S. Constitution doesn’t put enough restrictions on what government can do. Still, 56% think the foundational document shouldn’t be tampered with, and another 33% believe it needs only minor changing.

Just 47% now believe the United States is a nation with liberty and justice for all, the lowest level measured in six years. Still, 77% say if they could live anywhere in the world, it would be the United States.

Scott Rasmussen’s weekly newspaper column notes that “only one-in-four voters today thinks our government has the consent of the governed.” He adds, “That's a clear call for our government to change its ways and re-earn the trust of those it is supposed to serve. Those are the kind of attitudes that make the Political Class nervous. The fact that we expect more comes from the fact that we as a nation still embrace the Spirit of '76.”

On this weekend’s episode of What America Thinks, Kristina Arriaga of the Becket Fund and Ken Klukowski from the Family Research Council discuss the challenge to religious freedom in America. Then, host Scott Rasmussen visits Independence Hall in Philadelphia for a discussion of the historical context behind the Constitution.

What America Thinks airs on 64 stations nationwide. Find a station near you.

So how are representative democracy and our constitutionally guaranteed system of checks and balances working these days?

The U.S. Supreme Court finished its term with big decisions on voting rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Following those rulings, public approval of the Supreme Court has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded in more than nine years of polling.

Just seven percent (7%) of voters think Congress is doing a good or excellent job. This marks the sixth consecutive survey that shows Congress’ positive ratings in single digits. Sixty-five percent (65%) believe that no matter how bad things are, Congress can always find a way to make them worse.

Republicans gained the edge over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending June 30, but this is the second time in the past three weeks that support for both sides was below 40%, something that hasn't happened since June 2009. This is the 11th straight week that the parties have been separated by two points or less.

At the same time, voters like the balance of Congress having final review over the Executive branch’s decisions when it comes to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency sent revised greenhouse gas regulations to the White House this past week, but 51% of voters think all EPA regulations should require congressional approval before they can be implemented. That's up eight points from 43% in late December.

Speaking of the Executive branch, 52% of voters think it is good for the nation that the American people know more about the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance programs, and 70% believe the phone and e-mail surveillance programs may have inappropriately violated the privacy of innocent Americans. But as for Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who disclosed the programs, just eight percent (8%) regard him as a hero. Thirty-two percent 32% now consider him a traitor. Most think he’s either somewhere between hero and traitor (34%) or that it’s too early to tell (23%). Those numbers reflect a slightly more negative view of Snowden compared to two weeks ago.

Forty-three percent (43%) rate the NSA’s secret surveillance of Americans’ phone and e-mail communications as a serious scandal. Thirty percent (30%) view it as an embarrassing situation but not a scandal, while 20% say it’s not big deal.

The White House announced late Tuesday that it will delay implementation of the employer mandate, a key portion of President Obama’s national health care law. As the date for implementation draws near, support for state implementation of the health care law is declining. Just 41% of voters now would like their governor to support implementation of the law, while 48% want their governor to oppose it. This marks a complete reversal from January when 47% wanted their governor to support implementation of the law and 39% were opposed.

As projected by the Rasmussen Employment Index, the number of new jobs in June – announced by the government yesterday - slipped slightly from the month before but remains near the highest levels of recent years. Sixty-six percent (66%) of Americans know someone who is out of work and looking for a job. But that’s the lowest it’s been since the Great Recession. Americans are evenly divided as to whether the labor market is better than it was a year ago and also divided as to whether the unemployment rate will be better or worse a year from now.

An increasing number (35%) of Americans think now is a good time to sell a home in their area, but belief that owning a home is a family’s best investment is down to 47%, the lowest level measured in the past year.

Consumer and investor confidence remain near recent highs.

Despite these signs of economic improvement, confidence in the president’s handling of the economy continues to fall. Thirty-five percent (35%) of voters now say Obama is doing a good or excellent job in this area, down from a recent high of 48% in December.

The president had a challenging month of June, and his total Job Approval rating fell two points to 47%. That ties his lowest approval rating since December 2011. The current rating is more in line with his job approval during most of his first term in office.

In other surveys this week:

-- For the second week in a row, 30% of voters say the country is heading in the right direction.

-- Americans consider blacks more likely to be racist than whites and Hispanics.

-- Americans continue to strongly believe private sector workers work harder for less money and have less job security than government workers do.

-- Only 26% of voters rate the performance of public schools in America today as good or excellent. Sixty-one percent (61%) think most textbooks are chiefly concerned with presenting information in a politically correct manner, little changed from surveys for the past three years. 

-- Just 25% think most high school graduates have the skills needed for college. Only 22% think high school graduates have the necessary skills to enter the workforce.

-- Americans continue to see the Fourth of July as one of the nation’s most important holidays. It ranks second only to Christmas.

-- Most Americans are aware that the Fourth of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

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Remember, if it's in the news, it's in our polls.