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May 5, 2015

Voters Strongly Favor Body Cameras for Cops

Voters overwhelmingly favor requiring cops to wear uniform cameras, but will it make us all safer?

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May 5, 2015

Clinton Defenders Advance an Unpersuasive Argument By Michael Barone

Some of Hillary Clinton's defenders have taken to saying that voters shouldn't pay attention to the latest Clinton scandals -- the gushing of often undisclosed millions to the Clintons and their organizations by characters seeking official favors -- because the charges are just one more in a long series: Whitewater, the Rose law firm billing records, the Buddhist temple fundraising, the Lippo Group.   

May 5, 2015

Will Bernie Sanders Be the Democratic Nominee in 2016?

Bernie Sanders has some work to do if he wants to be the next Democratic nominee for president of the United States.

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May 5, 2015

Let the States Make Drug Law By Froma Harrop

Howard Wooldridge, a Washington lobbyist, is a former detective and forever Texan on an important mission -- trying to persuade the 535 members of Congress to end the federal war on marijuana.

Liberals tend to be an easier sell than conservatives. With liberals, Wooldridge dwells on the grossly racist way the war on drugs has been prosecuted.

May 4, 2015

Voters Want Spending Cuts But Are More Doubtful They'll Happen

Most voters continue to favor across-the-board spending cuts by the federal government, but more than ever don’t expect the government to oblige.

May 4, 2015

27% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of Likely U.S. Voters now think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending April 30.

May 4, 2015

Obama, George W. Bush Are Boost in Primaries Only

Message to presidential hopefuls: Comparing yourself to President Obama or his predecessor, George W. Bush, is a much better idea during primary season than it is during the general election.

May 4, 2015

Support for More Border Control Hits Four-Year High

A growing number of voters consider illegal immigration a serious problem and believe controlling the border is the most important thing the government can do, even if using the military is necessary.

May 2, 2015

What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending May 2, 2015

Hillary Clinton finally has an official opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

Longtime Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-proclaimed socialist, is jumping into the race. Sanders earned just seven percent (7%) support among Likely Democratic Voters when we asked in early March, but that was before the politicking began. We’ll test Sanders with voters nationwide early next week.

May 1, 2015

Generic Congressional Ballot: Republicans 40%, Democrats 38%

Republicans hold a two-point lead on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending April 30 finds that 40% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican candidate in their district's congressional race if the election were held today, while 38% would choose the Democrat instead. Twenty-three percent (23%) prefer a third-party candidate or are undecided.

May 1, 2015

Obama’s Full-Month Approval Dips a Point in April

When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.

May 1, 2015

Voters Remain Cautious About Prison Reform

Hillary Clinton this week joined the chorus of Democrats and Republicans calling for ways to reduce the number of Americans in prison, and voters still tend to be cautiously supportive of that overall goal.

May 1, 2015

National Security Concerns Are Growing

Concern about national security was mostly in the low- to mid-teens from November 2008 through 2010. This concern began trending down slightly in 2010 and dropped to the low single-digits after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. It did not reach double-digits again until mid-2013.

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May 1, 2015

America's Politics Is Polarized, But Britain's Is Fragmented by Michael Barone

Next week, Britain votes in its first general election in five years. Some aspects of its politics will be familiar to Americans. Polls show voters are dissatisfied with politicians of both parties, cynical about whether they will keep their promises and closely divided between two major parties, which have been in existence for more than 100 years.

May 1, 2015

Americans Respond to Nepal, See Social Media As A Boost

One-in-five Americans are responding to the devastating earthquake in Nepal with money from their pocket, and most think the spread of social media helps in situations like this.

April 30, 2015

Voters Still Don't Like Congress' Top Leaders

They've all been reelected several times, but the four top congressional leaders remain an unpopular choice among voters nationwide.

April 30, 2015

Voter Suspicion Grows Over Hillary’s E-Mails

As Obama administration officials wrestle with the news media and congressional investigators over releasing Hillary Clinton’s e-mail from her days as secretary of State, voters are growing more suspicious that Clinton has something to hide.

April 30, 2015

Most See Baltimore Riots As Criminal, Not Protest

Americans view the recent rioting in Baltimore as criminal behavior, not legitimate protest, and think it will only worsen the criminal justice situation in the city.

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April 30, 2015

Defeatism in Baltimore By Froma Harrop

Using the most bloodless terms, an economist explained the failure or inability of so many African-Americans to rise from their impoverished circumstances. They do not respond to the economic incentives that push others to study and strive, he said.   

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April 30, 2015

Republicans in 2016: Rubio Edges Ahead of Walker By Geoffrey Skelley, Kyle Kondik, and Larry J. Sabato

For Republicans looking ahead to 2016, Florida is the pivotal state in the Electoral College. Naturally, we can’t know exactly what will happen a year and a half from now, but from our current vantage point, it appears very likely that the GOP must win the state to have a shot at winning 270 or more electoral votes and control of the White House.

Given the state’s importance, particularly to the Republicans, it seems appropriate that the top two contenders for the party’s presidential nomination in the Crystal Ball’s rankings now hail from the Sunshine State.