42 Percent of Americans Think Obama Has Expanded Presidential Power Too Much; 53 Percent Want the US Less Involved in Israel-Hamas Peace Talks
Americans want economic growth and say economic and education policies will determine their votes; Republicans are most enthusiastic about voting in November
42 Percent of Americans Think Obama Has Expanded Presidential Power Too Much; 53 Percent Want the US Less Involved in Israel-Hamas Peace Talks
Americans want economic growth and say economic and education policies will determine their votes; Republicans are most enthusiastic about voting in November
As President Barack Obama orders airstrikes in Iraq and considers taking executive action on immigration, the latest Reason-Rupe national telephone poll finds that 42 percent of Americans feel he has expanded the power of the presidency "too much" during his time in office. Twenty-one percent of Americans do not think President Obama has expanded the power of the presidency enough and 30 percent say he has not increased executive power at all while in office.
When it comes to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, 53 percent of Americans believe the United States should be less involved in negotiating a long-term peace agreement — 36 percent feel the US should stay out of the negotiations entirely and 17 percent say the US should be less involved than it is today. Twenty-one percent feel the US should be more involved in peace negotiations and the same number want the US to continue its current level of involvement.
Thirty-seven percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is doing on foreign policy, while 53 percent disapprove. Overall, 43 percent of Americans approve, and 52 percent disapprove, of the job the president is doing.
Just 18 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 75 percent disapprove. There's little enthusiasm for either party to take over Congress this November. Thirty-four percent of Americans say they would prefer that neither major party control Congress, 33 percent hope Republicans control Congress after the 2014 elections, and 29 percent want Democrats in control.
Eighty-three percent of registered voters — 84 percent of Republicans, 73 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of independents — tell Reason-Rupe they are certain or likely to vote in November. If the congressional elections were held today, 42 percent of likely voters say they'd vote for the Democratic Party's candidate in their district and 41 percent would vote for the Republican candidate.
Nearly four out of 10 likely voters, 39 percent, say the economy is the number one issue influencing how they'll vote in the November elections. Perhaps surprisingly, education is the second most important issue to voters (16 percent), followed by foreign policy (15 percent), immigration (10 percent), and health care (10 percent).
In terms of economic policies, 74 percent of Americans would like Congress to focus on policies to promote economic growth, while 20 percent favor policies to reduce income inequality.
Fifty-five percent of Americans tell Reason-Rupe they have a favorable opinion of capitalism. Meanwhile, 36 percent of those surveyed, including 33 percent of independents and 26 percent of self-described Tea Party supporters, have a favorable opinion of socialism. Half of Democrats, 50 percent, have a favorable opinion of socialism, nearly identical to the 53 percent who have a favorable opinion of capitalism.
The American public appears to be open to a series of constitutional amendments that have been proposed. Eighty-four percent of Americans favor requiring members of Congress to be subject to all of the laws they pass. Nearly three-quarters of Americans, 74 percent, support an amendment requiring the federal budget to be balanced. And 57 percent favor the so-called Citizens United amendment that would allow Congress and states to regulate campaign contributions and spending. However just 26 percent of those who support a campaign finance amendment would still favor it if it gave Congress or states the power to regulate activities such as publishing books or blog posts that support or oppose political candidates.
Fifty percent of Americans say they're open to allowing states to repeal federal laws if half or more of the states, representing at least half of the country's total population, vote to repeal a law.
When asked about the size of government, 54 percent of Americans favor a smaller government providing fewer services. Forty-two percent favor a larger government providing more services. The public is split on the government's role in promoting values — 49 percent say government should not favor any set of values but 47 percent believe government should promote "traditional" values.
The Reason-Rupe national telephone poll, executed by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, conducted live interviews with 1,000 adults on cell phones (500) and landlines (500) August 6-10, 2014. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.7 percent.
The topline results are available here (.pdf). The poll's crosstabs are here (.xls).
For more information and resources about the Reason-Rupe poll, please visit:
This is the latest in a series of Reason-Rupe public opinion surveys dedicated to exploring what Americans really think about government and major issues. This Reason Foundation project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation.
Contacts
Emily Ekins, Director of Polling, Reason Foundation, (310) 574-2961
Kristen Kelley, Communications Specialist, Reason Foundation, (443) 722-5592