It is a simple question, isn't it? Do you trust the federal government? Do you think that the feds are fair and impartial and trying to do the right thing? Are the folks in DC just nice people struggling to get by in a troubled world, just like the rest of us? Do the feds tell us the truth? Do you believe much of what they say?
When I was growing up, these were not difficult or contentious questions. Americans trusted their government in general. Oh, we knew that there was incompetence in Washington. We knew that some there were greedy. We knew that there were those who only cared about themselves. Nevertheless, the prevailing view across the land was that the federal government was -- on the whole -- trustworthy and believable.
That has really changed. Almost no one who pays attention now trusts the government. Even many who don't pay much attention to what is going on no longer trust the feds.
Today, Rasmussen released a poll about the NSA collection of data on phone calls and internet transmissions with the following results:
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide believe it is likely the NSA data will be used by other government agencies to harass political opponents. Only 30% consider it unlikely and 14% are not sure.
Do you get the full impact of those numbers? It is not that 57% of the people do not trust the feds to handle the NSA data properly. No, fifty seven percent of all Americans think that the federal government will actively use the NSA data to persecute Americans who do not support the government.
This is an extraordinary indictment of Obama's Washington. There is no trust and no faith in anything except that the feds will misuse this information.
Obama was right about one thing. He has managed to fundamentally transform America in one way: we no longer trust the federal government even to obey the law.
When I was growing up, these were not difficult or contentious questions. Americans trusted their government in general. Oh, we knew that there was incompetence in Washington. We knew that some there were greedy. We knew that there were those who only cared about themselves. Nevertheless, the prevailing view across the land was that the federal government was -- on the whole -- trustworthy and believable.
That has really changed. Almost no one who pays attention now trusts the government. Even many who don't pay much attention to what is going on no longer trust the feds.
Today, Rasmussen released a poll about the NSA collection of data on phone calls and internet transmissions with the following results:
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide believe it is likely the NSA data will be used by other government agencies to harass political opponents. Only 30% consider it unlikely and 14% are not sure.
Do you get the full impact of those numbers? It is not that 57% of the people do not trust the feds to handle the NSA data properly. No, fifty seven percent of all Americans think that the federal government will actively use the NSA data to persecute Americans who do not support the government.
This is an extraordinary indictment of Obama's Washington. There is no trust and no faith in anything except that the feds will misuse this information.
Obama was right about one thing. He has managed to fundamentally transform America in one way: we no longer trust the federal government even to obey the law.
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