For Immediate Release Monday, May 11, 2009
Polling shows independents aren’t buying Obama’s promises of prosperity through Big Government
WASHINGTON — Despite a deep financial crisis and the election of a left-wing president, political independents still see ‘big government’ as a greater threat than ‘big business’ by an unchanged two-to-one margin, America’s third-largest party notes today.
‘Independent voters believed Candidate Obama when he said he would be mainstream. Their trusting votes gave him a narrow victory,’ said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. ‘But now that the real Barack Obama has revealed himself, they’re not following his bootlegger turn toward the radical left. They still believe the same Big Government that Obama promises as our global salvation will be America’s undoing.’
‘Only one party in America agrees with independent voters, and that is the Libertarian Party,’ said Ferguson. ‘Republicans spent 14 years fattening government with their ever-escalating budgets. Even the Republican ‘alternative budget’ called for massive deficits and bigger spending.’
‘Once again, Libertarians are the only mainstream party in America. Only Libertarians will reduce the size and cost of government. Obama and the Republicans have us spiraling towards national bankruptcy.’
A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday asked 1,007 adults ‘which of the following will be the biggest threat to the country in the future – ‘big business’, big labor or ‘big government?’ Fifty-nine percent (59%) of politically independent Americans viewed ‘big government’ as the greatest threat, virtually unchanged from the 60 percent measured the last time the question was asked in 2006 – before the financial crisis and election of Barack Obama.
Only 30 percent answered ‘big business’ and 8 percent answered ‘big labor,’ both also virtually unchanged from the 26 percent and 10 percent measured in 2006.
Since the question was asked major financial crises have weakened the economy and the White House has been occupied by a president pushing radical expansions of government size and power — with virtually no effect on independents. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
The poll was released on the same day the White House released numbers showing the economy performing worse than Obama promised, and the federal budget deficit growing to a size four times larger than the 2008 Bush record. Under Obama, the federal government will borrow nearly 50 cents for every dollar it spends, an unsustainable and inflationary level of borrowing.
In more bad news for Obama, the only Americans buying into his opposition to capitalism are largely those who already voted for him, leaving little room to expand his support.
Democrats in 2006 feared ‘big government’ more than ‘big business’ by a 55 percent to 32 percent margin. Following in lockstep with Obama, they have flipped their views. Now, Democrats fear job creators more than government by a 52 percent to 32 percent margin.
Opposition to ‘big government’ grew among grassroots Republicans, though their party leadership doesn’t seem to share that view, based on their ‘alternative budget.’ In 2006, Republicans feared ‘big government’ more than ‘big business’ by a 68 percent to 18 percent margin. That grew in 2009 to 80 percent to 10 percent.
‘Grassroots Republicans oppose Big Government and want a party that agrees with them. Once again, the Libertarian Party is the only party that proposes cutting spending. We don’t follow the still-vibrant Republican tradition of making government bigger and costlier each year,’ said Ferguson.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org .
The Libertarian Party is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org . The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
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