Most Americans Fear A Government That Is Too Powerful

Most Americans Fear A Government That Is Too Powerful
Wednesday, June 29, 2011

As the nation prepares to celebrate Independence Day, more Americans than ever see danger in a government that is too powerful.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that two-out-of-three Adults (66%) think the bigger danger in the world today is a government that is too powerful rather than a government that is not powerful enough. Just 17% say the larger problem is a government that's not powerful enough. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The number of Americans who see more danger in a government with too much power is up several points from findings in surveys back to June 2008.

Over half (53%) of Americans now believe the federal government is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector.  Just 23% of voters think the federal government now has the consent of the governed.

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The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on June 23-24, 2011 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.

Eighty-four percent (84%) of Republicans and 72% of Americans not affiliated with either major political party feel the bigger danger in the world today is a government that is too powerful, but that view is shared by just 41% of Democrats.

However, most voters across all demographic categories agree that a government with too much power is the bigger danger today. Even 64% of government employees feel that way.

Separate polling finds that 45% of U.S. voters agree with the following statement: The gap between Americans who want to govern themselves and politicians who want to rule over them is now as big as the gap between the American colonies and England during the 18^th Century.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) remain at least somewhat angry with the current policies of the federal government, including 38% who are Very Angry.

Voter approval of Congress' job performance has fallen to a near five-year low.

A generic Republican candidate now holds a four-point lead over President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup.  It's a fifth week in a row that the GOP candidate has been ahead and the widest gap between the candidates to date.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only. 

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/june_2011/most_americans_fear_a_government_that_is_too_powerful