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

POLITICS

10% Trust America’s Political Leaders More Than Public on Key Issues

When it comes to key national issues, 73% of Likely Voters nationwide trust the American people more than their political leaders. These view have held fairly steady for years. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 10% trust the judgment of their political leaders more than the people.

Among Republicans, 83% trust the people more than the politicians. That view is shared by 62% of Democrats and 74% of those not affiliated with either major party. On a ideological basis, those numbers are 83% among conservatives, 69% among moderates, and 60% among liberals. Voters under 30 are less likely to trust the people than their elders. Among these youngest voters, 64% trust the people and 15% trust the politicians.

Seventy-two percent (72%) believe the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Only 15% disagree.

Seventy-three percent (73%) believe that government and big business work together against the rest of us. Only 13% disagree.

“The American people don’t want to be governed from the left, the right or the center. The American people want to govern themselves," says Scott Rasmussen, author of  In Search of Self-Governance.  “The American attachment to self-governance runs deep. It is one of our nation’s cherished core values and an important part of our cultural DNA.”  

(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 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted from August 29 to September 4, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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