Nearly nine of every 10 Americans think the government of this country is broken but they still hope that the it can be fixed.
That’s the result of a new CNN/Opinion Research poll released Sunday.
The poll of 1,023 adults found 86 percent feel the nation’s government is broken.
Of that 86 percent, 81 percent feel that the parts of government that is broken can be fixed.
The number has grown eight percentage points since 2006 and is the highest on record.
“That increase is highest among higher income Americans and people who live in rural areas,” reports CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
Americans overwhelmingly think that the government in this country is broken, according to a new national poll. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Sunday morning, also indicates that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what’s broken can be fixed.
Eighty-six percent of people questioned in the poll say that our system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no. Of that 86 percent, 81 percent say that the government can be fixed, with 5 percent saying it’s beyond repair. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but those are the groups that make up the bulk of the Tea Party activists today.”
The poll was conducted February 12-15 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 points.
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9 thoughts on “Americans: Government is broken big time”
Warren, the Republican Party was a third party at one time and many voters simply dug in with some “team work” (not respected here) and it became a power party. A formal registered Independent Party needs an open agenda that would lean heavily on fiscal responsibility and equality for all Americans. If that sounds familiar, it was the agenda of Goldwater. Sadly the RNC could not tolerate such freedoms and sat on their ballot hands.
Two organizations rule our government: The DNC and RNC and they have made it clear there will be no third party. The RNC wants members like Glenn Beck who speaks for something else not freedoms. No politician will give a single freedom up to anyone other than the Congress.
The LP is not as ethical as I would like. Too many would rather break the law to win. I attended their 2004 conference in Tucson and walked out. Yes, it would take years and what else do we have to do that is more important?
Warren, with all due respect an Independent Party could no longer be considered such. It would be much easier to rescind ballot access laws that were dreamed up by the two parties to solidify their co-dominance of the political landscape.
As you rightly point out, the Independents end up flopping back and forth between the two parties because there is simply no one else to vote for. Most of the Independents are as sheepish as the party faithful when it comes to voting.
In this last election, if all those that wanted to vote for Paul but didn’t want to “waste” their votes on a “loser” would have simply showed a little of their fabled “independence,” then we might have had a stronger show of force.
I never harbored any illusions that Paul would actually win. For me it was all about making inroads and advancing the cause of liberty. A shot across the bow of the Republican Establishment, if you will. It was quite a challenge, as it remains to be.
I like it Warren. Can a 3rd party have more than one candidate?
Re: silentSCREAM
In addition to the “sheeple being fat and warm”, their ‘right’ to shop until they drop best not be restricted which is the only thing they seem to cherish and would possibly rebel and even die to keep.
Of course they’ll only have the resources to shop at “Dollar Tree” stores and similar watering holes that are nothing but dumping grounds for Chinese manufacturers’ seconds; ie., their “floor sweepings”. / : |
Carl Nemo **==
So we can agree the federal government is broken. Big deal. The real long-running bigger problem is agreeing on the fix. The ruling-class [political] parties are in the business of repair. If you don’t think so, just ask ’em. They’ve always had the best answers… every campaign season. And we the people are too stupid to do anything other than accept their unbroken circle of lies. (Evidenced by the 80% congressional re-election rate) It’s what they do… it’s what we do. So long as [we] the sheeple remain fat and warm… there will be no substantive difference.
Reach around behind you,
feel around once in a while.
50 % is half of nothing whence, where ..
80% = nada, who did they ask?
It surely nans’t be the neighborhood of need. Hack!
I had one of those flashes of blue-white light today.
Background: Here in AZ we have three parties on the ballot. Democrat, Libertarian, and Republican. The reality is that the registered ‘independent’ are as numerous as the Rs and Ds. Ls play a very minor role. The swing voters are the independents. They decide the elections. But the really interesting part is that the R and D candidates are not centrist as might appeal to independents. They tend to be toward the fringes of their political parties in hope of keeping the hard-core base.
By law the requirements for an independent candidate to appear on a ballot are very much greater than they are for a candidate of a party with ‘ballot access’. Ballot access is determined by maintaining a percentage of registered voters and by gathering a certain number of signatures on a petition to become a recognized party.
OK. So here’s the blue flash. WHAT IF, there was a political party, a party with no ideological base, no left or right or up or down. A party that simply provided ballot access to independent candidates of all stripes? Call it the UIV – United Independent Voters.
That can be accomplished. Been around politics in AZ enough. This would be a couple of years’ work.
I’m momentarily in love with the idea. It would open state-wide politics to many new ideas for government, not just the jargon of the right and left.
Opinions??
—W—
The federal govt IS broken, and it’s up to us to fix it. Vote Congress out and get new reps, abolish lobbyists, abolish the Fed, put banks on local footing only, bring home the military, reduce (eliminate extraneous) spending, eliminate entire govt programs, call a moratorium on debt repayment. Set a 2-year window for the re-establishment of “normal” govt operations. DARE any outside spoilers to fuck with us during our period of recovery.
Yeah… it’s harsh, but what would you do better?
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