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                            April 15, 2013Generic Congressional Ballot: Democrats 42%, Republicans 38%
Democrats hold a four-point lead over Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending April 14.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Democrat in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 38% would choose the Republican instead.
(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 telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from April 8-14, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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                            April 15, 201315% Expect Obama, Congress To Really Cut Spending
Even if Congress and President Obama reach a budget deal, voters aren’t optimistic that it will include real spending cuts.
Sometimes when politicians use the phrase “spending cuts,” they really mean just a reduction in the growth of spending. Only 15% of Likely U.S. Voters think any plan agreed to by the president and Congress will really cut federal spending. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% believe it will merely reduce the growth of future spending instead. Twenty percent (20%) aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2013 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.

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                            April 15, 201341% Feel IRS Is Not Aggressive Enough
Voters are narrowly divided in their opinions of the Internal Revenue Service on Tax Day 2013 and tend to think it’s not aggressive enough in going after tax cheats. Perhaps that helps explain why voters aren’t enthusiastic about the IRS’s new role enforcing President Obama’s national health care law.
Forty-two percent (42%) of Likely U.S. Voters have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of the IRS, while slightly more (49%) view it unfavorably, according to a new Rasmussen reports national telephone survey. This includes just seven percent (7%) with a Very Favorable opinion of the federal tax collection agency and 17% with a Very Unfavorable one. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 13-14, 2013 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.

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                            April 15, 201386% Intend to Hit Today's Tax Deadline
Eighty-six percent (86%) of American Adults plan to have their taxes filed by today's deadline, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. 
That includes 72% who had filed by Saturday, up 11 points from the end of March but down from 78% this time last year. Another 14% intended to get them done yesterday or today. Seven percent (7%) will seek an extension, with seven percent (7%) more not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(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 survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on April 12-13, 2013 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.
April 15, 2013Extra Care Required in Crafting Immigration Reform By Michael Barone
"Without legislative language," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy declared in a statement March 20, "there is nothing for the Judiciary Committee to consider this week at our markup."  

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                            April 15, 201372% Favor Individual Choice When It Comes to How Much Health Insurance Coverage
Voters remain closely divided in their opinions of President Obama’s new health care law but also are still very clear that individuals, not the government, should decide how much health insurance they need.  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters now view the health care law favorably, while 49% have an unfavorable opinion of it. This includes 18% who regard the law Very Favorably and twice as many (35%) with a Very Unfavorable view. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Win an IPad: Take the Rasmussen Challenge!
(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 13-14, 2013 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.

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                            April 14, 201319% Believe the Era of Big Government Is Over
President Bill Clinton in a 1996 address famously declared, “The era of big government is over,” but President Obama's agenda has led many to conclude that era is back. Most voters wish Clinton was right; few think he is.
Just 19% of Likely U.S. Voters, in fact, think the era of big government is over. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% do not believe that to be true. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2013 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.

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                            April 13, 201371% View College Admissions for Good Athletes Over Better Students as Unfair
While it's commonplace for most colleges and universities to bend over backwards to recruit star athletes, Americans believe strongly that talented jocks shouldn't be admitted over more qualified students.  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 17% of American Adults think it is fair for a school to accept a skilled athlete over a more qualified student. Seventy-one percent (71%) disagree and do not believe that athlete should get preferential admissions. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
(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 survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 6-7, 2013 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.

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                            April 13, 2013What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending April 13, 2013
The ongoing debates in Washington, D.C. over gun control and illegal immigration highlight an uncomfortable reality for the Political Class: A lot of Americans just don’t trust their government.

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                            April 12, 20135% Think It’s Better for America If All Presidents Are Ivy League Grads
Only three percent (3%) of Americans think graduates of Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale make better workers than those who went to other colleges and universities. Still, every U.S. president for the last 25 years is an Ivy League graduate.
But only five percent (5%) of American Adults think it is better for America to have presidents only from Ivy League schools. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 85% believe it’s better for the country to have presidents who come from a variety of schools. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 6-7, 2013 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.For those students, Americans think contacts and the name of their school are as valuable as what they learn.

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                            April 12, 201325% Know Someone Who Has Been Murdered
There is a huge racial divide when it comes to personal experience with crime and the justice system.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of all American Adults know someone who has been murdered. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 13% know someone who is currently in prison.
Seventy percent (70%) do not know a murder victim, and 84% do not know someone currently in jail. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(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 survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on April 4-5, 2013 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.

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                            April 12, 2013Sanctions on Employers, Sanctuary Cities Seen As Most Effective Ways to Stop Illegal Immigration
Most Americans continue to believe it is important to secure the border to prevent future illegal immigration, but there’s little talk about how exactly the government should go about doing that. Rasmussen Reports tested some of the tools that have been mentioned to see how effective Americans think they would be.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds 78% of American Adults think it is at least somewhat important to secure the border to prevent future illegal immigration, including 57% who view it as Very Important. Seventeen percent (17%) see border security as not very or Not At All Important. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 10-11, 2013, 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.   

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                            April 12, 2013Gun Debate Highlights Voter Distrust of Government By Scott Rasmussen
Gun control advocates sound puzzled by congressional resistance to relatively modest gun control legislation.
April 12, 2013An Immigration Fix for Real By Froma Harrop
Not only is a Senate plan for reforming the immigration program smart, it may actually become law. Those two things don't necessarily go together. That it is bipartisan would seem a near miracle.
The "Group of Eight" reformers -- led by Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York -- would demand concessions from both open-border and closed-border hardliners. Most importantly, they are the right concessions.

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                            April 11, 201323% Believe It Is Too Hard to Get An Abortion in America
North Dakota recently enacted the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the nation, and several other states are considering similar legislation. While the number of pro-choice voters remains near an all-time high, more voters than ever already think it is too hard to get an abortion in this country, but even more still think it's too easy to get one.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters consider themselves pro-choice when it comes to the issue of abortion, just below the record high of 54% reached in November. Forty percent (40%) say they are pro-life, up from January’s low of 36%. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2013 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. 

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                            April 11, 201334% Say U.S. Has Crony Capitalist Economic System
Americans are almost evenly divided when asked if the United States has a free market economy or a crony capitalist one. This helps explain why they think more government involvement in the marketplace makes it less fair.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% of American Adults believe the United States has a system of free market capitalism. But nearly as many (34%) view it as a crony capitalist system. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 8-9, 2013, 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.

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                            April 11, 201363% Think No New Taxes Are Needed
Voters make it quite clear that there’s no need for the federal government to raise taxes. They’d prefer more tax cuts instead but are much more closely divided on that question.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 28% of Likely U.S. Voters think additional tax hikes are needed to fund the federal government. More than twice as many (63%) disagree and feel more taxes are not necessary. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(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 survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2013 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.
April 11, 2013Her Tea Party: What Margaret Thatcher Really Meant to England and the World By Joe Conason
Amid all the suffocating claptrap celebrating Margaret Thatcher in the media, only the British themselves seem able to provide a refreshing hit of brisk reality. Over here, she is the paragon of principle known as the "Iron Lady," devoted to freedom, democracy and traditional values who bolstered the West against encroaching darkness. Over there, she is seen clearly as a class warrior, whose chief accomplishments involved busting unions and breaking the post-war social contract.   
April 11, 2013Thatcher Insisted on Facing Hard, Uncomfortable Truths By Michael Barone
"Divisive." That's a word that appeared, often prominently, in many news stories reporting the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
One senses the writers' disapproval. You're not likely to find "divisive" in stories reporting the deaths of liberal leaders, although every electoral politician divides voters.
"Divisive" here refers to something specific. It was Margaret Thatcher's special genius that she systematically rejected the conventional wisdom, almost always well-intentioned, of the political establishment.
Instead, she insisted on hard, uncomfortable truths.
British Conservatives like Harold Macmillan accepted the tyranny of trade unionism because they had guilty memories of the slaughter of the working-class men who served under them in the trenches in World War I.
Thatcher, who as an adolescent before World War II saved money to pay for a Jewish girl to escape from Austria to England, felt no such guilt.

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                            April 11, 2013Americans Think Making Contacts Just As Important As Education in Elite Schools
Education is the most important thing students get out of a state university or a community college as far as most Americans are concerned. But for those who attend elite colleges and universities, contacts and the name of their school are considered as valuable as what they learn.
How did you do in this week’s Rasmussen Challenge? Check the leader board.
(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 survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on April 6-7, 2013 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 byPulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.