The Chasm Between Mainstream America And The Political Class

Rasmussen Reports appears to have started polling not only on key questions, but also on the difference of opinion between the Political Class and us normal people (they call us Mainstream America).  I really like that, because I think it illustrates one of the fundamental problems in our country right now.  To anyone who has been paying attention over the past few months and years, it should be no surprise that there is a gaping chasm between the two groups on many important questions, and the chasm is only growing wider.  First, see my previous post on who's been right about bank bailouts, auto bailouts, and tea parties for some initial background (there's also a link to a great story of how the American public is smarter than elected politicians...it's good stuff).

Now, where else are we seeing this gap?

Paying Taxes

With the annual ritual of filing federal income taxes just behind them, 52% of U.S. voters now believe they pay more than their fair share of taxes, up seven points from earlier this month.

But 54% of the Political Class don't think they pay too much, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

This is hardly reassuring, however, since 55% don't think most members of Congress pay all the taxes they owe.

Just 29% of all Americans say they don't pay their fair share in taxes, and 19% are not sure.

Sixty percent (60%) of voters nationwide believe tax cuts help the economy, while 15% say they hurt and 14% say they have no impact.

Similarly, most Americans (58%) say tax increases hurt the economy, but 21% believe they help and 12% say they have no impact.

Again, there is a startling divide between Mainstream America and the Political Class. While 69% of Mainstream Americans say tax cuts are economically beneficial, the Political Class is evenly divided—33% say the tax cuts help while 36% say tax cuts are bad for the economy.

Seventy-four percent (74%) of Mainstream Americans say tax increases hurt the economy. Among the Political Class, only 19% share that view. In fact, 30% of the Political Class say tax hikes are actually good for the economy and 31% say they have no economic impact at all.

Government Has Too Much Money, Power

Sixty percent (60%) of Americans say the federal government has too much power and too much money, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Just nine percent (9%) say the government has too little power and money. Twenty-four percent (24%) believe the government has about the right amount of both.

Not surprisingly, the Political Class sees things a lot differently. While 85% of Mainstream Americans say the government has too much power and money, just two percent (2%) of the Political Class agree. Nearly one-our-of-four members (24%) of the Political Class, in fact, believe the government has too little money and power, but 68% say it has about the right amount of each.

This is, to say the least, an astounding amount of disparity between the elected and those who elected them.  This is why we shake our heads in amazement at the mind-bogglingly stupid things that Washington does on a regular basis.  They make no sense to normal people living in the real world, but to politicians who have been infected by the Big Government Virus they're perfectly fine.

Make no mistake: this is what the tea parties were all about!

They weren't so much anti-Democrat, or even anti-Obama, but anti-Political Class.  There's a big difference.  The Political Class think the government should be all-powerful and control more of our money; the rest of us disagree.  The reason Obama and the Democrats were partially the focus of tea party ire is because they have aggressively driven home the point over the past few weeks, revealing their true stripes with little effort at still appearing to represent the people.  The underlying problem goes across the aisle, and the GOP has had its share of massive failures over the past few years, as I have mentioned any number of times before.

The point is that our elected leaders in Washington no longer represent us.  Some may be worse than others, but with these unmistakable and gigantic discrepancies on such important political questions, the root problem is vast and systemic.  That's why I say...

VOTE. THEM. ALL. HOME.

The good ones will survive a purge mentality because they're the ones who have connected with their voters.  All the rest deserve to be shown the door.  These polls prove it.

There's my two cents.