If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

POLITICS

64% of GOP Voters See Divide Between Public and Government As Biggest Since the American Revolution

Republican primary voters are pretty skeptical about the nation’s political leadership.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 64% of Likely GOP Primary Voters believe the gap between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them is now as big as it was between the American Colonies and Great Britain in the 18th century. Just 16% disagree with this sentiment, and 20% aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

But then 84% of Republican voters trust the judgment of the American people more than that of the nation's political leaders when it comes to important issues. Only four percent (4%) trust the political leaders more. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided. Among all voters, 76% trust the people more than the politicians.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) say the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Just six percent (6%) don’t share that view.

Two-out-of-three GOP voters (67%) think big business and the government often work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors. Thirteen percent (13%) disagree. Twenty percent (20%) are not sure.

“Throughout American history, voters tend to be a few decades ahead of the political leadership,” noted Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. “Voters gradually adapt to changes in the real world while politicians become defenders of the status quo. That creates a gap that is closed only when the political elites eventually concede.” Rasmussen wrote of this dynamic in his book In Search of Self-Governance.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. 

The survey of 1,000 Likely GOP Primary Voters was conducted on April 26, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. Likely GOP Primary Voters include both Republicans and unaffiliated voters likely to vote in a GOP Primary. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Want to read more?

Become a Rasmussen Reader to read the article

Have an account?

Log In

Become a Reader

Subscribe

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.