Poll: Most Americans Want Less Government

But the overwhelming majority of Americans blame Republicans for its growth.

by Rod D. Martin
October 30, 2006

In case you were wondering whether we're right that America now has a conservative majority, today's CNN poll is especially telling.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A quarter century after the Reagan revolution and a dozen years after Republicans vaulted into control of Congress, a new CNN poll finds most Americans still agree with the bedrock conservative premise that, as the Gipper put it, "government is not the answer to our problems -- government is the problem."

The poll released Friday also showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans perceive, correctly, that the size and cost of government have gone up in the past four years, when Republicans have had a grip on the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House.

CNN says "still", but of course the truth is that this has been a steady progression over time, not merely in numbers but intensity. It is this which accounts for the current needless troubles Republican candidates are having: their base…