AMERICANS INCREASINGLY SKEPTICAL OF GOVERNMENT – AT 8:25 A.M. ET:  You know, it's really amazing when Americans show so little gratitude toward Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barney Frank. 

I don't know what kind of country we're becoming.  Why, shouldn't we be thanking our public representatives for doing all those wonderful things?  Well, maybe not.  From Andrew Kohut in the Wall Street Journal:

By almost every conceivable measure, Americans are less positive and more critical of their government these days. There is a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of government—a dismal economy, an unhappy public, and epic discontent with Congress and elected officials.

These are among the principal findings from a new series of Pew Research Center surveys. Rather than an activist government to deal with the nation's top problems, these surveys show that the general public now wants government reformed and a growing number want its power curtailed. With the exception of greater regulation of Wall Street, there is less of an appetite for government solutions to the nation's problems—including greater government control over the economy—than there was when Barack Obama first took office.

The public's hostility toward government seems likely to be an important election issue favoring the Republicans this fall. But the Democrats can take some solace in the fact that neither party can be confident it has the advantage among such a disillusioned electorate. Favorable ratings for both major parties, as well as for Congress, have reached record lows. Opposition to congressional incumbents, already approaching an all-time high, continues to climb.

And...

The public is now divided over whether it is a good idea for the government to exert more control over the economy than it has in recent years. Just 40% say this is a good idea, while a 51% majority says it is not. Last March, by 54% to 37%, more people said it was a good idea for the government to exert more control over the economy. The exception here is the undiminished support for the government to more strictly regulate the way major financial companies do business. This is favored by a 61% to 31% margin.

COMMENT:  Republicans tend to rejoice in polls that show Americans want smaller government, but the Wall Street finding must be a wake-up call to the GOP as well.  Voters are furious, understandably, with Wall Street.  A number of conservative commentators, usually wary of regulation, are urging the party to participate actively in tightening federal oversight of the Wall Street casino.  Americans will no longer accept love letters to "the free enterprise system" as a substitute.  What has been happening on Wall Street often has nothing to do with "free enterprise," and everything to do with gimmickry, legal stealing, and a mocking of the market.  And remember, these "capitalists" were the first to come hat-in-hand to the government for bailouts when they got into well-deserved trouble.  Some free enterprise.

As we've said repeatedly here, Republicans will have to earn their victory in November, not simply assume it.  They must show that they can be problem solvers, not just the party of "no."

April 19, 2010