On Dec. 1, 1955, a churchgoing woman of character refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Ala. Many credit Rosa Parks' courageous action that day with launching the civil rights movement. While I have great respect for what Ms. Parks did that day, however, she did not start the civil rights movement. The movement began long before, and public opinion led the way.
Most Americans are still proud of their country and its history, but they aren’t convinced that the nation still lives up to the greatness former President Reagan famously declared.
Just 40% of American Adults now view the United States as "the last best hope of mankind," according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t view America this way, while 24% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 21-22, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
The number of homeowners who say their home is worth more than what they still owe is down this month, but confidence in the short-term housing market remains higher than it has been in several years.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 50% of U.S. homeowners now say their home is worth more than they still owe on their mortgage. That’s down 10 points from 60% in May which was the highest finding so far this year and tied a high reached only once before in four years of regular surveying. Thirty-three percent (33%) still say they owe more than their home is worth, generally consistent with regular surveying since April 2009. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 708 Homeowners nationwide was conducted on June 25-26, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
President Obama, former Vice President Dick Cheney and others have defended the National Security Agency’s surveillance of Americans’ phone and e-mail communications as necessary for national security. But voters think they should have been more concerned about individual rights.
Some say there is a natural tension between national security and protecting individual rights, but a plurality (43%) of Likely U.S. Voters believes government officials have worried too much about national security at the expense of those rights in the NSA surveillance program. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% feel officials have worried too much about protecting individual rights. Thirty percent (30%) think the balance is about right. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 24-25, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
The U.S. Senate is expected as early as today to pass an immigration reform plan that opens the way to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, but few voters think the plan ultimately will become a reality. Just 37% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely the immigration plan will pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives and be signed by President Obama this year. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% say it’s unlikely the plan will become law. This includes 12% who say it’s Very Likely to pass and 15% who view it as Not At All Likely. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 20-21, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
Half of all voters consider radical Muslims the bigger terrorist threat facing the nation, but supporters of President Obama consider the Tea Party to be as big a danger. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters consider radical Muslims to be the bigger threat to the United States today. Thirteen percent (13%) view the Tea Party that way, and another 13% consider other political and religious extremists to be the larger danger. Six percent (6%) point to local militia groups. Two percent (2%) see the Occupy Wall Street movement as the bigger terrorist threat. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 22-23, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
Thirty percent (30%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, June 23.
That’s up a point from the previous week, is virtually unchanged from a year ago and is consistent with voter attitudes for more than three months now. Confidence in the country's direction jumped into the low 40s last November and remained in the mid- to high 30s through February.
The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on June 17-23, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
The economy and health care again top the list of 15 voting issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, while the environment and the war in Afghanistan are among the issues voters regard as least important.
New national telephone surveying finds that 77% of Likely U.S. Voters consider the economy Very Important in terms of how they will vote in the next congressional election. (To see survey question wording,click here.)
The surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters each were conducted on June 16-17, 20-21 & 24-25, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error for each survey 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.
Most voters think the National Security Agency is likely to have violated one of the country’s most cherished constitutional standards – the checks and balances between the three branches of government – by spying on the private communications of Congress and judges.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 72% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that the NSA has monitored the private communications of Congress, military leaders and judges. That includes 45% who believe it is Very Likely.
Just 14% say it’s not likely that the Executive branch of the government monitored the private communications of the Legislative and Judicial branches. Another 14% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 24-25, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
The two political parties are in disarray. The Democrats are disheartened. The Republicans are disunited.
The instinct for survival is coded into the DNA of every living creature, and the Internal Revenue Service is made up of thousands of human beings with that instinct. As a single department of the government leviathan, the IRS is a good example, too, of the collective survival instinct of the federal government.
One of the sticking points in the ongoing congressional debate over immigration reform is who will determine if the border with Mexico is actually secure enough to prevent future illegal immigration.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Likely U.S. voters favor letting the federal Department of Homeland Security make that call. That’s the approach currently in the Senate immigration reform legislation.
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 20-21, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
People say America is a free country. But what if you want to drink, have a cigarette or make a bet? Government often says "no" to protect us from ourselves.
For the first time in nearly two years, over half of voters say the immigration issue is Very Important in terms of how they will vote in the next congressional election. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters now rate immigration that highly, up from 45% in April. Another 32% rate the issue as somewhat important. Just 15% say immigration is not very or Not At All Important to how they will vote in the congressional midterm elections next year. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 16-17, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
Americans have surprisingly similar overall views of their relationship with their spouse and relations with their co-workers.
Ninety-one percent (91%) of married Americans grade their relationship with their wife or husband as good or excellent, Rasmussen Reports national telephone polling finds.
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Something's gotten into Brazilians that hasn't caught on here, but should. They're out on the streets protesting their government's plan to sink billions into monuments to sport.
Most voters still view nuclear weapons as critical to the country’s safety, and just one-in-four agree with President Obama’s call for a reduction in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal is at least somewhat important to the country’s national security, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 16% disagree. This includes 45% who view the arsenal as Very Important to national security, although that’s down from 57% in March of last year. However, just three percent (3%) now consider America’s nuclear weapons as Not At All Important to the country’s safety. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 22-23, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
Voters continue to believe the U.S. justice system doesn't work the same way for all Americans.
Overall, 45% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the U.S. justice system is fair to most Americans, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree. Sixteen percent (16%) aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 18-19, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. 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.
Immigration reform now seems certain to pass the Senate within days, in an amended bill that could win as many as 70 votes from both parties. The results will improve life for millions of undocumented workers and their families -- but the costs will not be negligible, including a "surge" that will rapidly double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol to 40,00 agents, along with much more fencing and surveillance technology.
Democrats have pulled ahead by one point again on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending June 23, 2013.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 40% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Democrat in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 39% would choose the Republican instead. Last week, the two parties were tied at 39% apiece. It was the first time since June 2009 that both were below 40%.
For the past 10 weeks, the two parties have been separated by two points or less.
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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from June 17-23, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
