Poll du jour: Distrust of government at near-record levels
New polling shows near-record levels of Americans of all political beliefs agree with the Libertarian Party that Big Government is the most critical threat to the nation.
“Americans’ concerns about the threat of big government continue to dwarf those about big business and big labor, and by an even larger margin now than in March 2009,” writes national polling firm Gallup Monday.
“The 64% of Americans who say big government will be the biggest threat to the country is just one percentage point shy of the record high, while the 26% who say big business is down from the 32% recorded during the recession.”
64 percent of political independents say big government is the biggest threat to the nation, while only 26 percent say that of big business, matching the overall number.
Even among Democrats fear of government has spiked 16 percent while fear of big business has plunged eight percent, despite massive coverage for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Democrats are more likely to fear government more than business, by a 48 percent to 44 percent margin.
That is a dramatic reversal from when Obama took office, when Democrats feared business more than government by a 20 point margin, 52 percent to 32 percent — pointing to a deep rejection of Obama’s administration and message.
