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March 23, 2009

57% Support 90% Tax on AIG Post-Bailout Bonuses

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of U.S. voters favor imposing a 90% tax on bonuses paid by American International Group (AIG) and other firms that receive government bailout money, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

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March 23, 2009

67% Say Politicians Should Give Back AIG Contributions, Political Class Disagrees

Two-out-of-three Americans (67%) believe that politicians who received campaign contributions from American International Group (AIG) should return the money. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 21% disagree and 13% are not sure.

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March 22, 2009

Obama Action on Lobbyist Disclosure Is A Step Most Americans Will Welcome

President Barack Obama on Friday announced that lobbyists must put in writing any requests they believe should be granted from the recently passed $787 billion economic stimulus package. His action is definitely a step in a direction most voters will welcome, according to Rasmussen Reports surveying.

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March 22, 2009

Congress, Overtax Thyself By Debra J. Saunders

There is no group more dangerous than one with some power, no scruples and leaders who think that they are really smart and that everyone else is really, really stupid.

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March 22, 2009

Political Class Gives Geithner Good Reviews, Most Americans Disagree

America’s Political Class gives Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner rave reviews—76% have a favorable opinion of him. Two-thirds (66%) of the Political Class say Geithner’s doing a good or excellent job handling the credit crisis and federal bailouts.

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March 21, 2009

Most Americans Say Let AIG Go Out of Business, Political Class Disagrees

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of American adults say it’s better for the economy to let American International Group (AIG) go out of business rather than providing federal subsidies to keep the insurance giant afloat.

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March 21, 2009

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending March 20, 2009

Many Americans think there’s already too much government in their lives and the government they’ve got either ignores real problems or makes them worse.

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March 21, 2009

A Hidden Agenda Behind the 90 Percent Tax? By Lawrence Kudlow

Taking advantage of the populist revolt against Wall Street and AIG bailouts, the House Democrats have passed a vengeance tax on TARPed financial firms that amounts to a 90 percent marginal tax rate on bonuses.

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March 21, 2009

Card Check: Good for Unions, Bad for America By Michael Barone

The Obama administration's budget is full of proposals that threaten to weaken our staggering economy.

March 20, 2009

54% Say Allies Should Follow America's Lead

More U.S. voters than ever (54%) think the nation’s allies should do what the United States wants them to do, a likely reaction to the departure of the Bush administration's hotly-debated foreign policy agenda.

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March 20, 2009

61% Support Putting More U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

Sixty-one percent (61%) of U.S. voters agree with President Obama’s decision to put more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

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March 20, 2009

55% of Americans Are Populist, 7% Support the Political Class

There has been a lot of talk recently about populist outrage at the corporate and political shenanigans surrounding the financial bailout. As a result, Rasmussen Reports created a tool to measure the differing views of the Political Class and Mainstream America.

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March 20, 2009

The Republican Vacuum By Susan Estrich

Imagine how different things might be right now if there were a Republican Party. I mean a party like the one led by Ronald Reagan, George Bush or Newt Gingrich; a party with a program, a single set of talking points, and the technological and communications advantages to get their message across. That kind of Republican Party. The kind that doesn't exist right now.

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March 20, 2009

Obama’s Numbers After Two Months

The day after Barack Obama was elected president, 54% of voters nationwide expected government spending to go up during the Obama years. Now, after two months of the Obama administration, that number has jumped 18 percentage points to 72%.

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March 20, 2009

Statehouse Rock: 36 Governorships on the Chopping Block in 2010 By Larry Sabato

Last week the Crystal Ball conducted a historical overview of gubernatorial midterm elections in the past sixty years. Now we'll continue our initial analysis of the statehouse battles to come by assessing the situation in each of the 36 states hosting a contest for Governor in 2010. Let's start with the 20 Democratic statehouses on the ballot.

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March 19, 2009

68% of Arizona Voters Favor Sheriff Who Gets Tough on Immigration

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Arizona voters have a favorable view of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose aggressive enforcement of laws against illegal immigration have triggered an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Forty-six percent (46%) view the sheriff very favorably.

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March 19, 2009

68% Say Bailout Money Is Going To Those Who Caused The Economic Crisis

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Americans now say most of the taxpayer money given out as bailouts is going to the very people
who created the country’s current economic crisis.

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March 19, 2009

50% Worry Government Will Do Too Much To ‘Help’ The Economy

Fifty percent (50%) of U.S. voters now say they are more worried that the government will do too much in reacting to the nation’s economic problems rather than not enough.

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March 19, 2009

Tree Sitter Is Not in Berkeley Anymore By Debra J. Saunders

When Tristan Anderson, now 38, was living illegally in the trees at the University of California, Berkeley, to protest the administration's ultimately successful bid to cut them down to build a sports training center, life was good.

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March 19, 2009

Push Back Against AIG's 'Brightest' By Joe Conason

Having long flattered themselves as "masters of the universe," the creative financiers of Wall Street and London are today exposed as grifters rather than geniuses. Their proud claim that society cannot prosper without them -- voiced so often whenever anyone raised subjects such as taxation or regulation -- would now provoke bitter laughter instead of credulous nodding.