45% of Voters Say One-Party Rule Bad for U.S., 27% Disagree

45% of Voters Say One-Party Rule Bad for U.S., 27% Disagree

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters say it’s better for the country if the White House and Congress are each run by a different political party.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) disagree and say it’s better to have one political party running both branches of government, as is currently the case, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. But slightly more (28%) aren’t sure which is best.

This marks a seven-point drop in support for one-party rule from a survey just before last November’s election when it seemed clear Democrats were going to win the presidency and strengthen their control of Congress.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans and 51% of voters not affiliated with either major political party say it’s better for America to have the White House and Congress run by different parties.

Since Democrats now control the presidency and both houses of Congress, it’s not surprising that they disagree, but they’re far more closely divided than one might expect. While 39% of Democratic voters think rule by one party is best, 27% like the idea of divided government, and 34% are undecided.

Fifty-two percent (52%) of populist or Mainstream America say it’s better for the country to have the White House and Congress in the hands of different parties, but the Political Class is evenly divided on the question.

With Al Franken set to be sworn in next week as a new senator from Minnesota, Democrats will hold a 60-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, which will allow them to stop any filibuster attempts by Republicans to hold up legislation they oppose or force changes in it.

Forty-three percent (43%) of voters believe it is bad for the country if one political party has a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, while 31% think the country benefits from it. Twenty-six percent (26%) are undecided. Support for a filibuster-proof Senate majority is down slightly from the survey last fall.

Since Republican senators are now in the minority, it’s no surprise that 61% of GOP voters think a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate is bad for the country, a view shared by 51% of unaffiliated voters. By contrast, 48% of Democrats think such a majority in the Senate is good for America.

Forty-four percent (44%) of U.S. voters have an unfavorable opinion of Franken as he prepares to join the Senate as its newest member, while 34% view him favorably.

As support for one-party rule has slipped a bit, so have the president’s job approval ratings. A growing number of voters, in fact, now blame Obama’s policies for the continuing bad economy.

The public is evenly divided on key issues such as the President’s health care reform, climate change legislation, and the impact of the stimulus plan.

Forty-two percent (42%) of Americans say the climate control bill passed by the House vote last Friday will hurt the U.S. economy. Just 19% believe it will help. Fifty-six percent (56%) say they are not willing to pay more in taxes and utility costs to generate cleaner energy and fight global warming.

Forty-five percent (45%) of Americans say the rest of the new government spending in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan proposed by the president and approved by Congress in February should be stopped immediately. Seventy-six percent (76%) say it is at least somewhat likely that a large amount of money in the stimulus plan will be wasted due to inadequate government oversight.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... 7_disagree