CSPG: Political Climate

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Iowa: Government and Politics

Political System
Trust In Government
Government Performance
Divided Government
Third Parties
Government Scandals: Mark Foley

Political System

American Political System Broken

Poll	Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	July 27, 2006	54%	34%	13%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "Some people say that America's political system is badly broken. Do you agree?"

Trust In Government

Trust the Government to Do What Is Right

Poll	Date	Just about always	Most of the time	Some of the time	Never	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Humphrey Institute¹	September 27 – October 3, 2004	6%	44%	45%	3%	3%	599 LV	± 4.0
Humphrey Institute¹	June 21 – July 12, 2004	3%	38%	53%	5%	1%	614 RV	± 4.0

1 "How much of the time do you think you can trust the government to do what's right - just about always, most of the time, only some of the time, or never?"

Government Performance

Satisfaction with Iowa Government Performance by State Function

State function¹	Mostly satisfied	Mostly unsatisfied	No opinion
Public Safety	84%	13%	3%
Transportation	74%	19%	7%
Natural Resources	72%	21%	7%
Public Health	67%	29%	4%
Economic Development	60%	33%	7%
Education	60%	37%	3%
Human Services	58%	31%	11%
Corrections	55%	32%	13%
Workforce Development	50%	38%	12%
Poll	Iowa Poll
Date	January 21-24, 2007
Sample	800
MoE	± 3.5
Poll	Iowa Poll

1 "For each of the following state functions, please tell me if you are mostly satisfied or mostly unsatisfied with the state's performance."

Divided Government

Party Control of Government Preference

Poll	Date	Split	One-Party	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Iowa Poll¹	February 7-11, 2004	48%	35%	17%	800	± 3.5

1 "When you think about the way state government works, do you think it works in the best interest of the state when the governor and a majority of the state legislature are from the same party, or is it best when they are from opposing parties?" The Iowa Poll is sponsored by The Des Moines Register.

Third Parties

Consider Voting for Independent or Third Party Candidate for President

Poll	Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Humphrey Institute¹	June 21 – July 12, 2004	70%	28%	2%	614 RV	± 4.0

1 "Would you consider voting for an independent or third party candidate for president - that is, a candidate who is neither Democratic nor Republican?"

Government Scandals: Mark Foley

Following News Stories About Congressman Foley Page Scandal

Poll	Date	Very closely	Somewhat closely	Not very closely	Not at all	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 19, 2006	33%	38%	22%	6%	2%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "How closely have you followed news stories about the situation involving Congressman Mark Foley?"

House Leadership Handling of Foley Page Scandal

Poll	Date	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 19, 2006	7%	18%	23%	40%	12%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "How do you rate the way that Republican leaders in Congress have handled the Foley situation?"

House Leadership Handling of Foley Page Scandal

Poll	Date	Approve	Disapprove	No opinion	Sample	MoE
KCCI-TV / Research 2000¹	October 16-17, 2006	26%	60%	14%	600 LV	± 4.0

1 "(As you may know, Republican congressman Mark Foley recently resigned from office because he reportedly sent explicit Internet messages to young males who had worked as pages in Congress. We'd like to ask you a few questions about this.) Do you approve or disapprove of the way House leaders, particularly Speaker Dennis Hastert, handled the revelations about Foley?"

Republican Cover Up of Foley Page Scandal

Poll	Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
KCCI-TV / Research 2000¹	October 16-17, 2006	55%	35%	10%	600 LV	± 4.0

1 "Do you think the national Republican leadership covered up the circumstances leading to Mark Foley's resignation?"

Importance of Foley Page Scandal As Voting Issue

Poll	Date	Very	Somewhat	Not very	Not at all	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 16, 2006	13%	23%	32%	27%	5%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "In terms of impacting your vote this fall, how important is the situation involving Mark Foley?"

Impact of Foley Resignation on Vote Choice

Poll	Date	Democrats	Republicans	No Effect	Sample	MoE
KCCI-TV / Research 2000¹	October 16-17, 2006	17%	6%	77%	600 LV	± 4.0

1 "Does the resignation of Mark Foley make you more likely to vote for Democratic or Republican candidates in this year's election, or does it have no real effect on your vote?"

Democratic Involvement in Foley Resignation

Poll	Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
KCCI-TV / Research 2000¹	October 16-17, 2006	13%	56%	31%	600 LV	± 4.0

1 "Do you think Democrats orchestrated the circumstances leading to Mark Foley's resignation?"

Democratic Leadership Handling of Situation if Foley Was Democrat

Poll	Date	Better	Worse	About the same	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 16, 2006	22%	20%	46%	12%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "Suppose that Foley had been a Democrat. Would Democratic leaders in Congress have handled the situation better, worse, or about the same?"

Inappropriate Congressional Relations with Staff Commonplace

Poll	Date	Very	Somewhat	Not very	Not at all	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 16, 2006	9%	31%	33%	8%	19%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "How common is it for members of Congress to have inappropriate relations with their staff?"