Class Warfare: Q&A By Froma Harrop
Demands to let taxes rise for Americans topping the income charts have led to charges of "class warfare" by the usual Republican suspects. To move the conversation forward, here are some questions and answers:
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October 18, 2011
October 18, 2011
54% Still See Bailouts As Bad for the Country
Voters are closely divided over the role they want the federal government to play in the current economy, but they remain positive that bailouts are one way they don’t want to go.
October 17, 2011
Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 42%, Democrats 39%
Republicans continue to lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot as they have for over two years now. The GOP holds a three-point advantage over Democrats for the week ending Sunday, October 16.
October 17, 2011
63% Favor Immigration Checks On All Routine Traffic Stops
Most voters still strongly agree with automatic immigration status checks when a police officer pulls someone over for a routine traffic stop. They also continue to favor tough sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants and landlords who rent or sell to them.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 63% of Likely U.S. Voters say if a police officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation, the officer should automatically check to see if that person is in the country legally. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree.
October 17, 2011
Cain 43%, Obama 41%
Whether Herman Cain’s surge in the polls is temporary or has staying power, he’s enjoying a big enough bounce to take a very slight lead over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. At the moment, the Georgia businessman is the only Republican with a lead of any kind over Obama, although former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has held a similar advantage several times and is currently trailing the president by just two points.
October 17, 2011
17% See War with Iran As Very Likely Within Five Years
Most voters are aware that the United States has accused Iran of attempting to assassinate the ambassador from Saudi Arabia in this county and think there’s a good chance America will be at war with Iran in the near future.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that the United States will end up in a war with Iran in the next five years or so. However, only 17% think it’s Very Likely. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 32% feel a war with Iran is unlikely in the next five or so years, but that includes only five percent (5%) who think it is Not At All Likely.
October 17, 2011
58% Think Repeal of Health Care Law Likely
Most voters still want to see the national health care law repealed, and confidence that its days are numbered is at an all-time high.
October 17, 2011
Romney Buoyed by Good Luck -- and Hard Experience By Michael Barone
Napoleon is supposed to have said that the quality he most valued in his generals was luck. In the current race for the Republican presidential nomination, Napoleon's favorite would clearly be Mitt Romney.
October 16, 2011
63% Put Border Control Ahead Of Legalizing Illegal Immigrants
Most voters continue to believe as they have for years that immigration legislation should focus on border control. They also remain supportive of a welcoming immigration policy with a few key restrictions.
October 16, 2011
Americans Like Surveillance Cameras Except at Red Lights
Most adults nationwide support the use of surveillance cameras on police cars and in public spaces like train stations and parks, but they aren’t quite as sold on the idea of installing them at traffic intersections.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 86% of American Adults believe it’s a good idea for police cars to use surveillance cameras to monitor what happens when officers approach and apprehend suspects. Only 10% don’t like the idea. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
A majority (66%) also thinks there should be surveillance cameras in all major public spaces such as train stations, parks and sports stadiums. This idea draws opposition from 23% of adults, while 11% are undecided.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is planning on installing cameras on all buses, subways and trolleys by 2013 in part to foil false injury claims. Other big cities such as New York, Washington, DC and Atlanta have heavily increased use of surveillance cameras in recent years as an anti-crime measure.
But less than half of adults (44%) think it’s a good idea to use cameras at traffic intersections to catch speeders and those who run red lights. The same number (44%) does not see cameras at intersections as a good thing. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure.
(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 national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on October 11-12, 2011 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.
October 15, 2011
Cain the Tax-Code Killer By Lawrence Kudlow
Herman Cain is the only GOP presidential candidate who wants to kill the tax code. That’s right. Put a knife in it. Junk the entire system. And people are cheering as he rises in the polls in his quest for the nomination.
October 15, 2011
53% Favor Tax Code That Treats All Taxpayers Equally
Most voters like the concept behind a flat tax more than the complicated tax system the United States has today with numerous deductions and breaks for certain businesses.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters think it’s more important for the government to treat all taxpayers equally than for the tax code to be used to encourage things like home ownership, charitable contributions and industries favored by government policy. Twenty-nine percent (29%) disagree and believe the government should use the tax code to advance its agenda in certain areas. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
October 15, 2011
What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending October 15, 2011
Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman quipped at last Tuesday night’s debate that at first he thought rival Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan was the price of a pizza. Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, wasn’t amused, but for now at least he’s having the last laugh.
October 15, 2011
The Tax Hikes That Republicans Love By Joe Conason
From the tea parties to the corporate boardrooms to the presidential debate platforms, we hear a familiar droning whine about taxes -- except the angry message is no longer simply that taxes are too high. Today, conservative politicians and pundits complain instead that some people, namely those too poor to owe federal income taxes, aren't paying enough.
October 14, 2011
44% Have Favorable View of Christie, 29% Like Rubio
Most Republicans have favorable opinions of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and freshman Florida Senator Marco Rubio, but for a sizable chunk of voters both men are largely unknown.
October 14, 2011
Election 2012: Obama 49%, Gingrich 34%
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may have moved into a distant third place in the primary race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but he trails President Obama by 15 points in a hypothetical general election matchup.
October 14, 2011
New Low: 32% Support Obama’s Decision To Take Military Action in Libya
As fighting drags on in Libya, support for U.S. military action there and confidence that a change of government in the North African country will be good for the United States have fallen to new lows.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 32% of Likely U.S. Voters now agree with President Obama’s decision to take military action in Libya, down from 45% support in mid-March just after it began and 39% last month following premature news reports that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been defeated.
October 14, 2011
Primary Madness: Deja Vu All Over Again By Josh Putnam
It's hard to look at the events surrounding the 2012 presidential primary over the last several weeks and not come to the conclusion that it is, in Yogi Berra's words, deja vu all over again.
October 14, 2011
Primary Madness: A Calendar We Can Believe In By Rhodes Cook
At long last, the 2012 Republican presidential nominating calendar is coming into focus. But it is not all that GOP schedule makers wanted. Rather than a February start in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Florida's recent decision to hold its primary Jan. 31 has moved all the other early-voting states forward a month.
October 14, 2011
65% Say Politics In D.C. Will Become More Partisan
Nearly two-out-of-three voters continue to expect increased partisanship in Washington, DC and to think both parties are to blame.
