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.
Even as a hurricane of perhaps historic dimensions closes in on the East Coast, the real storm in the country remains the beat-up and begging economy. Americans also continue to show little confidence in the president and the federal government to make a difference.
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.
The economy remains the top issue on the minds of voters while perceptions of President Obama’s handling of the issue has fallen to a new low.
Most voters continue to blame the struggling economy on the recession that began during the Bush administration, but the number that trusts their own economic judgment more than the president’s is at a new high.
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.
While voters have consistently supported tough penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, nearly half believe that illegal immigrants do the jobs Americans don’t want to do.
President Obama continues to lead all named Republicans in early polling on the 2012 race for the White House, but the numbers suggest a competitive race may be possible.
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.
Republican voters want to have it both ways: They like a presidential candidate with business and government experience but rate life in the private sector as slightly more important.
A generic Republican candidate now holds a five-point advantage over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up for the week ending Sunday, August 21.
The president and the maverick are running almost dead even in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup.
The Obama administration announced last week that it was slowing the deportation process for "low priority" immigration cases to focus on illegal immigrants with criminal records.
Americans increasingly believe government anti-poverty programs cause more poverty in this country.
Will she or won’t she? Sarah Palin has a busy schedule leading up to a major public event in Iowa on September 3, and Republican insider Karl Rove predicts she’s about to enter the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
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.
Even as the Obama administration moves to slow the pace of deportation for illegal immigrants, voters continue to believe strongly that gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States.
Rick Perry vs. Barack Obama? We’ll see, but that’s what voters were telling us this past week. They also have some good advice on where Congress can look to cut the bloated federal budget.
While many Democrats, journalists, and establishment Republicans have been critical of the Tea Party, most Republicans think the grass roots smaller government movement will be a plus for their party in next year’s presidential race.
