I'd feel a lot better about this if I was a benevolent dictator!
On second thought, perhaps I should pursue a career as an on-air news celebrity.
Is America Becoming a Police State?
Rasmussen Polling
Thursday, September 21, 2023
More than two-thirds of American voters are worried that their country is turning into a police state – a tyrannical government that engages in mass surveillance, censorship, ideological indoctrination, and targeting of political opponents.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 72% of Likely U.S. voters are concerned that America is becoming a police state, including 46% who are Very Concerned. Only 23% are not concerned. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Worries about the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have increased since the raid last year on former President Donald Trump’s Florida home. Fifty percent (50%) of voters now agree with the statement, “The FBI is a danger to the freedom and security of law-abiding Americans,” including 28% who Strongly Agree. Forty-five percent (45%) disagree, including 26% who Strongly Disagree.
The survey of 998 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on September 14 and 17-18, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Asked which political party is a bigger threat to basic liberties in America, 48% say Democrats and 41% say Republicans, while another 10% are not sure.
As might be expected, most Republicans (76%) think Democrats are a bigger threat to liberty, while most Democrats (65%) say Republicans are a bigger threat. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 43% believe Democrats are a bigger threat to basic liberties in America and 35% think Republicans are a bigger threat.
More Republicans (62%) than Democrats (34%) or unaffiliated voters (43%) are Very Concerned that America is becoming a police state.
Similarly, more Republicans (45%) than Democrats (17%) or unaffiliated voters (22%) Strongly Agree that the FBI is a danger to the freedom and security of law-abiding Americans.
Men (52%) are more likely than women (40%) to be Very Concerned that America is becoming a police state.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of whites, 41% of black voters and 60% of other minorities at least somewhat agree that the FBI is a danger to the freedom and security of law-abiding Americans. Black voters are less likely to view Democrats as a bigger threat to basic liberties.
Voters under 40 are less likely than their elders to be Very Concerned that America is becoming a police state, and also less likely to consider Democrats the bigger threat to liberty.
Fifty percent (50%) of self-identified liberal voters Strongly Disagree that the FBI is a danger to the freedom and security of law-abiding Americans, and liberals are also least concerned about the country becoming a police state.
Breaking down the electorate by income categories, those in the highest bracket – earning more than $200,000 a year – are least likely to view the FBI as a danger to freedom, and most likely to consider Republicans a bigger threat to basic liberties in America.
President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are least worried about the FBI. Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president, only 19% agree with the statement, “The FBI is a danger to the freedom and security of law-abiding Americans.” By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 79% agree that the FBI is a danger to freedom.
A quarter of Democratic voters favor Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in their party’s primary, and many would vote for Kennedy if he ran as a third-party candidate in 2024.
Concerns about election integrity remain high, with most voters worried that cheating could be a factor in next year’s election.
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