Voters overwhelmingly believe the media’s more interested in playing “gotcha” with those running for president than with airing out where they stand on the important issues of the day.
As President Obama prepares to address the nation on creating jobs, voters are divided on whether his views are best described as being mainstream or extreme. Voters also give mixed opinions about the Republicans vying for his job.
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.
Most voters are paying at least some attention to the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but just a plurality (41%) thinks the existing primary process is a good way to select a party’s candidate.
Hurricane Irene has Washington talking about cutting government spending again. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has proposed that new federal spending for Irene disaster relief be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget, and a plurality of Americans thinks that's a good idea.
Most voters still think U.S. society is fair and decent and overwhelmingly believe that those who come here from other countries should adopt America's culture and language.
Describing a political candidate as being “like Ronald Reagan” is a winner as far as most voters are concerned. Being called “a socialist” or “a career politician,” on the other hand, is a sure loser.
Even in today’s tough economic times, the idea of the federal government providing basic living funds to all Americans is an unpopular one.
A proposal has been made for the federal government to spend $46 billion to hire a million people on a temporary basis in areas including childcare, eldercare, education, public health and housing, construction and maintenance, recreation and the arts. Voters aren’t exactly on board with this idea, as many believe that most of the temporary jobs created would be wasteful projects.
Looks like it’s a little more popular to be a liberal or a progressive these days, although conservative remains the best political label you can put on a candidate for public office. Being linked to the Tea Party is the biggest negative.
Americans send fairly positive signals about the roads they drive and the bridges they cross, and for all the talk of infrastructure spending from Washington, DC, most aren’t confident that the new money will make things any better.
Texas Governor Rick Perry recently caused a stir when he told voters it was his goal to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential as possible in their lives. But voters are closely divided over whether that’s such a good idea.
Slightly more voters continue to classify themselves as pro-choice rather than pro-life when it comes to abortion, but a majority still believes it is morally wrong.
Most voters continue to believe states should be able to ignore federal programs they don’t like, especially if the federal government doesn’t help pay for them.
Americans overall tend to trust governments closer to home rather than the federal government and worry that the team in DC has too much influence over state governments. However, Democrats and those who are politically liberal take an entirely different view.
The Obama administration is expected to announce more infrastructure spending as part of a new jobs plan in September, but Americans still think private companies will do more to create jobs than the government can.
Americans increasingly believe government anti-poverty programs cause more poverty in this country.
The Obama administration has increased its criticism of Syria’s violent response to anti-government protests, and both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are now calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. But most U.S. voters continue to think America should mind its own business when it comes to Syria.
A plurality of U.S. voters continues to say they’re politically conservative when it comes to fiscal issue, but voters are more evenly divided on their social views.
Voter support for continued military action in Libya continues to fall along with the number of voters who think dictator Moammar Gaddafi will be removed from power as a result.
