PA Bill Number: HB335
Title: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons.
Description: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons. ...
Last Action: Removed from table
Last Action Date: May 1, 2024
Poll: Nearly half of Americans see government as 'immediate threat' to freedom :: 09/23/2015
WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — Almost half of Americans consider the federal government "an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens," according to a new Gallup poll, consistent with levels seen throughout Barack Obama's presidency.
The poll, conducted in mid-September, found that 49% of Americans think the government is an immediate threat, and 49% think it is not.
In polls conducted since 2010, 46-49% of respondents have answered that the government is a threat. When Gallup first asked the question in 2003, it was only 30%. By 2006, it had risen to 44%. However, when the results are broken down by political party, it becomes clear that these opinions often reflect partisan feelings about the current president.
In 2006, under the Bush administration, 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said the government was a threat. Under Obama, that number has dropped to around 30%, but the number of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents with that opinion has risen to over 60%.
When asked in the latest poll why they believed the government was an immediate threat, 19% said the government was generally too big and there were too many laws. 12% specifically cited gun control and fear of the government violating the second amendment.
Other reasons mentioned by 3-6% of respondents were socialism, violating religions freedom, government involvement in marriage issues, illegal immigration, and Obamacare. 4% cited police and law enforcement violence.
Gallup suggested that the partisan tendencies of respondents indicated these feelings represent traditional complaints about government, rather than "radical beliefs" about the government abusing its power over citizens.
Another question in the same survey found that 17% of Americans feel "dissatisfaction with government" is the most important problem facing the country today. 15% said the economy, and 12% said immigration. Other issues cited by at least 4% of respondents included racism, morality, healthcare, the budget deficit, and education.
According to the poll, 42% of people said the Republican Party would handle the most important problem best, and 37% said Democrats would.
The opinions and the issues raised in the poll seem to reflect current events and the rhetoric on the 2016 campaign trail. Gallup noted that the number of people viewing immigration as the most important problem has nearly doubled since early July amid the focus of Donald Trump and other Republican candidates on illegal immigrants and news reports about the migrant crisis in Europe.
Influence from media coverage and political buzz surrounding certain issues may also explain why issues like gay marriage and police violence surfaced as the most important problem in the eyes of some respondents this month.
The widespread fear of the federal government among Republicans may help explain the results of the Republican race so far, with three candidates who have no political experience dominating a field of current and former senators and governors.
Other recent polls have shown a similar high level of mistrust of government in the U.S., particularly among Republicans.
According to a YouGov poll, 29% of Americans, including 43% of Republicans, can imagine a situation in which they would support a military coup of the federal government. 41% of Americans said they could support the military taking control if the government was violating the constitution.
The poll also found 70% of Americans believe military officers want what is best for the country, while a majority feels local and national politicians care more about what is best for themselves.
Some have questioned the accuracy of the YouGov poll. Abraham Wyner of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania told the Guardian that online polls are unreliable because they are susceptible to selection bias, but YouGov attempts to weigh its responses to account for that.
The anti-government sentiment suggested by the poll is not out of step with other surveys, though.
A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showed a significant majority of Americans believe politicians cannot be trusted (72%) and the political system is "basically dysfunctional" (64%).
However, asked whether they want the next president to fix the system or "tear it down and start over," the vast majority, 76%, want the current system to be fixed. That includes 77% of Republicans and 78% of conservative Republicans.
While a majority of adults would prefer that the next president have experience in the political system, according to the survey, 58% of Republicans want a candidate without political experience.
Again, these viewpoints appear to be reflected in the candidates voters are supporting for their 2016 presidential nominations. Although outsiders Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina are currently the favorites of Republican primary voters, Democrats strongly favor Hillary Clinton, who is a former first lady, senator, and Obama administration cabinet member.
In a recent blog post offering advice to GOP officeholders running for reelection in 2016, Republican strategist Glen Bolger noted that pessimism about the direction of the country has been ongoing for 11 years and that politicians of both parties who represent the status quo are being blamed for that.
"Do understand just how angry the GOP base is at not only Obama and Hillary, but also the GOP Establishment. There is a belief that Washington, D.C. is not working because the politicians have been sidetracked by power, money, and Potomac Fever," Bolger wrote on the Public Opinion Strategies website.
Gallup polls since 2010 have consistently shown that over 70% of Americans believe corruption is widespread throughout the government. This level of suspicion is not as high as in some other countries with a free press, but it is significantly higher than in many other western nations, including Britain, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden.
In that context, poll results showing that nearly a majority of Americans fear the government is an imminent threat to freedom are not particularly surprising or unusual. They represent significant trends in public opinion that presidential candidates, especially those in the Republican Party, will need to navigate and find an effective way to address.
