These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
Voters Believe Overwhelmingly That Politicians Don't Keep Their Promises, and Most Say It's Deliberate
Thursday, October 14, 2010
With the campaign season in full swing, voters are more cynical than ever about the promises politicians make on the campaign trail. But Democrats are far more trusting than Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 81% of Likely U.S. Voters now say that most politicians do not keep their campaign promises. That's up five points from 76% in November of last year . (To see survey question wording, click here ).
Only seven percent (7%) think most do keep their campaign promises, but 12% more aren't sure.
Half (50%) now believe that when politicians break campaign promises, it's because they deliberately made a false promise to get elected. Thirty-nine percent (39%) disagree and say unforeseen events after they took office forced them to break their promises.
Yet while 61% of both GOP voters and those not affiliated with either of the major parties think the politicians made deliberate false promises, 56% of Democrats say unforeseen circumstances forced them to break those promises.
Similarly, 61% of Mainstream voters say after they're elected politicians break promises that were deliberately false. But 58% of the Political Class think the politicians were forced to break the promises because of unforeseen events .
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters U.S. Voters was conducted on October 12-13, 2010 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 .
Most Democrats agree, however, that the majority of politicians don't keep their campaign promises, but they don't feel quite as strongly about that as GOP voters and unaffiliateds.
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Mainstream voters say most politicians don't keep their promises. Those in the Political Class are much more narrowly divided on the question.
In a survey last December, 79% of voters said most politicians are more concerned with getting reelected than in doing what is right .
Voters strongly believe that most members of Congress are for sale , and over half think it's at least somewhat likely that their own representative has been bought with cash or a campaign contribution .
When it comes to money and power, politicians want the government to have more of it, while voters want the government to have less. At least that's what most Americans think .
Nearly two-out-of-three U.S. voters (63%) remain at least somewhat angry at the current policies of the federal government , including 43% who are Very Angry.
Just 23% of voters nationwide believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed .
Sixty-two percent (62%) believe it would be better for the country if most members of Congress were defeated next month . Just 27% think their representative in Congress is the best possible person for the job, and only 37% think their local congressional representative deserves reelection.
Perhaps most telling, only 17% of voters want their child to grow up to be a politician .