Friday, April 06, 2012

By 2-to-1, Likely Voters Believe Supreme Court Does NOT Limit Government Enough

By Susan Duclos


The Supreme Court has been front and center in the news since the end of March when the Court heard arguments on the constitutionally of the Obamacare law's individual mandate, Obama has misquoted laws, preemptively claimed that if the law were overturned it would be "unprecedented", walking back those remarks, and then an appeals court forcing the administration to admit, in writing, that the Supreme Court's power to overturn a law that violates the constitution is undisputed.

In the midst of all the hoopla, Rasmussen questioned U.S. Likely Voters and found that by 2-to-1, more feel the Supreme Court does not do enough to limit the government by 30 percent to 15 percent. 40 percent says the balance is about right.

So, while Obama claims that it would be judicial activism if Obamacare or the heart of Obamacare, the individual mandate, is struck down, American voters do not agree as 50 percent of Likely U.S. Voters say they would like to see the Supreme Court overturn the health care law, and 54 percent predict that that’s what the court will do.

Those numbers are backed up by a Quinnipiac University National poll from February 2012 which find that voters say 50 - 39 percent, including 51 - 37 percent among independent voters, that the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn Obama's health care reform law.

As of June 2011, according to Gallup, Americans had more confidence in the Supreme Court than they did the presidency, public schools, criminal justice system, Newspapers, television news, banks, organized labor, big business, HMO's and congress, listed in order of confidence levels.

The five listed above it were the military, small business, police, church or organized religion and the medical system.

In Gallup's September 2011 numbers for trust and confidence in the Supreme Court it shows 46 percent approve of the job they do, 40 percent disapprove. Lower in that same report the question is asked "First, let me ask you how much trust and confidence you have at this time in the executive branch headed by the president, the judicial branch headed by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the legislative branch, consisting of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives -- a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?

Answers for - The judicial branch, headed by the U.S. Supreme Court:

A great deal - 12%
Fair Amount - 51%
Not very much - 28%
None at all - 8%
No opinion - 1%

In general, do you think the current Supreme Court is too liberal, too conservative, or just about right?

Too liberal - 31%
Too conservative - 20%
About right - 42%
No opinion - 7%

Despite Democrats' complaints about the Supreme Court and accusations of it being too conservative and if portions or all of Obamacare were struck down it would be conservative judicial activism, the plurality of Americans find the makeup of the Court to be about right and by an 11 percent margin more believe it is too liberal than those that think it is too conservative.

This means the arguments Obama, Democrats and liberals across the board are preparing in case Obamacare falls as unconstitutional, is dead on arrival, and they know it.

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