American’s Dissatisfaction With Government Nearing Historic Levels
American’s dissatisfaction with their government is nearing historic levels, according to a wide-ranging new study reported in The Huffington Post. While the country is sharply divided over a host of issues, its citizenry is united in a belief that the system doesn’t work towards their interests.
The poll, conducted by EMC Research and spearheaded by former Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell, shows that the American public has become increasingly distrustful of its government over the past several decades, save for an uptick that corresponds to the September 11 attacks in 2001. The study relies on three surveys, one conducted via phone and two taken over the internet in 2013. While similar, but less intense, levels of dissatisfaction have been witnessed in the past, Caddell argues that something more fundamental has changed in the relationship between Americans and their government.
According to the Mail Online, an astonishing 84 percent of poll respondents reported feeling alienated from their government, asserting that the political system does not serve their interests. While 65 percent of Americans believe that politicians are lying more and undermining democracy, 71 percent responded that future generations will not have a better standard of life than current Americans enjoy. Ninety-two percent of respondents would prefer that ordinary citizens run for political office, as opposed to “hand-picked elites.” Caddell asserts that these numbers show that Americans are more unified than most believe:
“In fact the country is united about one thing: that the political class does not represent them, that the system is rigged against them. There is a belief that the system is rigged, and that’s what we need to understand.”
Caddell and his allies are using the study to launch an effort that they have dubbed We Need Smith, a populist effort to back a candidate who will take on government corruption in the manner of Jimmy Stewart’s character in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. The effort is well-funded and more bipartisan than most initiatives currently found in American government. Caddell is joined in leading the effort by former RNC and NRSC senior official Bob Perkins, as well as Scott Miller, who has worked in both Republican and Democratic campaigns.
The EMC poll isn’t the only one drawing headlines lately. Earlier this week, a poll naming Barack Obama the worst president since World War II was highly reported by political media. As The Inquisitr reported, the results of that poll were largely influenced by unified Republican admiration for Ronald Reagan and disdain for Obama, while Democrats were split in their opinion of who the best and worst leaders of the American government were.
[Images via TheBlogIsMine and The Oligarch Kings]
