The last few days have marked the 65th anniversaries of the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. The United States has been criticized for years for that decision which President Harry S. Truman and others believed would save countless American lives.
Voters overwhelmingly believe that most members of Congress are for sale, and over half think it’s at least somewhat likely that their own representative has been bought with cash or a campaign contribution.
Just 20% of voters nationwide believe that most members of Congress can be trusted with top secret national security information. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% disagree and say most of the nation’s federal legislators can’t be trusted with sensitive information.
The Obama administration is wrestling with the illegal disclosure on the Internet of thousands of secret documents related to the war in Afghanistan, and 67% of U.S. voters believe the release of this kind of information hurts national security.
Recent polling has shown huge gaps between the Political Class and Mainstream Americans on issues ranging from immigration to health care to the virtues of free markets.
In official Washington, there appears to be a belief that policy makers must choose between helping the economy or reducing spending and deficits. A number of polling companies have even asked questions on the trade-off.
Americans are evenly divided over whether marijuana should be legalized in the United States, but most expect it to happen within the next decade.
Eighty-seven percent (87%) of U.S. voters say it is at least somewhat likely that a woman will be elected president of the United States in the next 25 years, up eight points from nearly four years ago.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Likely Voters prefer free markets over a government managed economy. Just 14% think a government managed economy is better while 11% are not sure. These figures have changed little since December.
Just 20% of U.S. voters favor the building of an Islamic mosque near the Ground Zero site of the World Trade Center in New York City, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Voters have mixed feelings about government regulation of big business, but most feel small businesses are regulated too much. There is also a strong belief that more competition and less regulation would be better for the economy and job creation.
If Republicans win control of Congress this fall, voters overwhelmingly believe the nation’s legislature should wait until the newly elected officials take office before considering major legislation. Most, however, expect that Democrats will try to pass new legislation before turning over control.
Most voters now believe it is at least somewhat likely that Republicans will win control of both houses of Congress in this November’s elections, and nearly half say there will a noticeable change in the lives of Americans if this happens.
The notion that governments derive their only just authority from the consent of the governed is a foundational principle of the American experiment.
The frustration that voters are expressing in 2010 goes much deeper than specific policies. At a more fundamental level, voters just don’t believe politicians are interested in the opinions of ordinary Americans.
Washington Post political columnist Dana Milbank recently wrote a column about Arizona’s response to illegal immigration and called it a “pariah state.” However, voters nationwide are far more worried about the nation’s Political Class than about Arizona’s response to illegal immigration.
Recent news reports say the new financial regulatory bill before Congress includes a whole new layer of offices intended to promote the hiring of minorities and women, but voters remain lukewarm about the idea of affirmative action.
This Independence Day, Americans overwhelmingly agree with the core ideals instilled in the founding document of the United States.
Every morning children in school stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, which says “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Most Americans say don’t mess with the U.S. Constitution, even though a plurality still believes it does not restrict the government enough.
