57% Okay With Government Shutdown If It Leads to Deeper Budget Cuts
A majority of voters are fine with a partial shutdown of the federal government if that’s what it takes to get deeper cuts in federal government spending.
General Politics
Most Recent Releases
April 1, 2011
April 1, 2011
39% Say Legal System Worries Too Much About Individual Rights At Expense of National Security
Voters still tend to think America’s legal system puts too much emphasis on the rights of the individual when it comes to national security and public safety.
March 31, 2011
Americans Still Divided Over Legalizing, Taxing Marijuana
Americans, as they have been for some time, are closely divided over whether the government should use marijuana to help solve the country’s fiscal problems.
March 31, 2011
Just 21% Say U.S. Has Clearly Defined Mission in Libya
Despite President Obama’s address to the nation Monday night, most voters still aren’t clear about why the U.S. military is engaged in Libya.
March 30, 2011
Voter Views on Libya Show Little Change
President Obama’s address to the nation Monday night doesn’t appear to have made voters more confident about his handling of the situation in Libya, nor has it made them feel more strongly that Libya is important to U.S. national security.
March 29, 2011
Only 16% Think Country Would Be Better Off If Most Incumbents in Congress Reelected
Voters are less supportive than ever of congressional incumbents and fewer than one-out-of-three think their own representative is the best person for the job.
March 28, 2011
69% Still Angry At Government's Current Policies
Midterm elections and a change of power in the U.S. House of Representatives haven't lowered the level of voter discontent with the federal government and the leaders of the two major political parties.
March 25, 2011
21% Say Today’s Children Will Be Better Off Than Their Parents
Although today’s children are the future of our nation, most Americans continue to believe they won’t be better off than their parents.
March 25, 2011
28% Say Libya Important To U.S. National Security, 42% Disagree
While the Obama administration presses on with the military mission in Libya, few voters view the North African country as important to America’s own security.
March 25, 2011
50% Recognize that Most Americans Support Congressional Term Limits
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of U.S. Likely Voters recognize that most Americans favor congressional term limits. Just 20% believe it is a view held mostly by conservatives.
March 24, 2011
45% Support U.S. Military Action in Libya, 34% Oppose, 21% Undecided
Voters have mixed feelings about President Obama's decision to use the U.S. military to help rebels in Libya and nearly half agree that he should have gotten Congress' okay first.
March 22, 2011
34% Now Support U.S. Involvement in Libya
With the U.S. military now actively involved in Libya, voters are more supportive of an American role in the Libyan crisis but also are more critical of President Obama’s handling of the situation.?
March 21, 2011
40% Recognize That Most Americans See Government As the Problem, 46% Say That’s Mostly a Conservative View
There are certain statements that politicians and those in the political arena make every day as if they are things that everyone agrees on. The problem is, in many cases, people don’t agree on them – or do they?
March 15, 2011
Public Employee Union Members More Hostile to Republicans than Private Sector Union Workers
Members of public employee unions prefer Democrats over Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot by a 28-percentage-point margin. Among private sector union members, the gap is half that size.
March 15, 2011
11% Say Communism Better Than U.S. System of Politics and Economics
Communism as an ideological force largely died with the collapse of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, but even with many of its horrors increasingly forgotten, U.S. voters overwhelmingly reject the ideology that contended for world dominance for much of the 20th Century.
March 14, 2011
Most Voters Still Support Guantanamo Prison, Military Tribunals for Terrorists
President Obama announced as one of his first acts in office that he planned to close the Guantanamo prison camp for terrorists in Cuba, but political and legal complications have brought that effort to a halt. The president announced recently that the facility will remain open indefinitely and that trials of the inmates by military tribunals will resume there. Voters continue to support both decisions.
March 11, 2011
Just 17% Believe American Muslims Are Treated Unfairly
Most voters don’t believe their fellow citizens are unfair to Muslim Americans. They also think Muslims in this country should be louder in their criticism of potential domestic terrorist attacks.
March 10, 2011
39% Say Government Not Focusing Enough on Threat of Domestic Islamic Terrorism
A House committee is expected to begin controversial hearings today about the potential danger of domestic Islamic terrorism, and a sizable number of voters think the government is not paying enough attention to this possible threat. Most voters still worry, too, about homegrown terrorist attacks.
March 8, 2011
28% of Voters Are Both Fiscal and Social Conservatives
A plurality of U.S. voters classifies themselves as fiscal conservatives. But when it comes to social issues, voters are more evenly divided on which viewpoint they hold.
March 8, 2011
63% Say U.S. Should Stay Out of Libya Crisis
As official Washington buzzes with talk of possible U.S. military intervention in Libya, the majority of U.S. voters continue to favor a hands-off approach.
