Sunday, 04 May 2014 18:00
Written by Alex Newman
The Founding Fathers created the U.S. government for the express purpose of securing the God-given individual rights of Americans, according to the Declaration of Independence.
A poll released last month, however, confirmed yet again that a majority of voters now view the perpetually expanding Leviathan as a threat to those rights and individual liberty. More than one in three Americans even fears the federal government, the recent poll showed, confirming other surveys finding broad public agreement that Washington, D.C., has become dangerous and out of control.
The Rasmussen Reports national survey, released on April 18, also shows that trust in federal authorities is plunging fast. More than two thirds of voters, for example, said they view the federal government as a special interest group primarily concerned with protecting its own interests. Only 17 percent did not. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents all agreed.
Meanwhile, less than one in five Americans surveyed trusts the Washington-based political and bureaucratic classes to do the right thing most of the time — down from 24 percent less than a year ago. On the other hand, 80 percent disagree, and 36 percent of voters surveyed say the federal government rarely or never does the right thing.
Even more stunning than the imploding level of trust in the feds, though, is the fast-spreading fear Americans express about the federal government. In December of 2012, 46 percent viewed the feds as a threat to individual rights, while 45 percent viewed it as a defender of personal freedom. By mid-April, the levels of fear had surged, while the number of Americans who still viewed the federal government as a protector of their rights had plunged.
The latest Rasmussen poll of 1,000 likely voters found that 54 percent “consider the federal government today a threat to individual liberty rather than a protector.” Among Republicans it is three fourths. Even most labor-union members now say D.C. is a threat to freedom. By contrast, just 22 percent of Americans now see the feds as protectors of individual rights — a major decline from the 30 percent who did less than six months ago.
As The New American reported a year ago, other polls have found similarly dramatic results. According to a Fox News poll released in May of 2013, for example, more than two thirds of likely voters “feel like the federal government has gotten out of control and is threatening the basic civil liberties of Americans.” Almost half of Democrats agreed that Washington, D.C., was out of control as well — more than the number who disagreed. Just a quarter of respondents did not feel that way, while four percent said they had mixed feelings or it “depends.” MORE…
