We’ve previously noted that polls show that Americans are in a “prerevolutionary” mood, that less than 1 in 5 Americans think that the government has the “consent of the governed”, that government corruption tops the list of Americans’ fears (gee, we wonder why), and that 3 times as many Americans supported King George during the Revolutionary War than support our OWN Congress today.
You might assume that such statements are over-the-top … or that the results come from partisan pollsters.
But a group of Republican and Democratic pollsters and political strategists reviewed polling data last week, and revealed some stunning results:
84% of all Americans believe political leaders are more interested in protecting their power and privilege than doing what is right
81% percent believe the power of ordinary people to control our country is getting weaker every day as politicians of both parties fight to protect their own power and privilege
80% believe the federal government is its own special interest primarily looking out for itself
79% of all voters believe we need to recruit and support more candidates for office, at all levels of government, who are ordinary citizens, rather than professional politicians and lawyers
78% believe that the Democratic and Republican Parties are essentially useless in changing anything, because both political parties are too beholden to special interests to create any meaningful change
76% of Americans agree with the statement that America cannot succeed unless we take on and defeat the corruption and crony capitalism in our government
75% believe that the US government is NOT working for the people’s best interest
75% believe that powerful interests have used campaign and lobbying money to rig the system for themselves
74% see the biased and slanted coverage of the media as part of the problem
72% of Americans believe the U.S. has a two-track economy, where most Americans struggle every day, where good jobs are hard to find, and where huge corporations get all the rewards
72% believe that the reason families in our middle class have not seen their economic condition improve for decades and economic growth is stalled is because of corruption and crony capitalism in Washington
71% believe our government is not only dysfunctional, it is collapsing right before our eyes
70% believe the government in Washington does not govern with the consent of the people
The majority – 56% – say they wish there were a third party with a chance of success to fight for their interests
Only 15% say the “values and principals of my political party are so important that I strongly prefer to vote for the candidates of my party…”
They concluded:
The country [is] in a prerevolutionary moment.
This election could mark the beginning of the end of two-party duopoly in the United States.
The people believe the real struggle for America is not between Democrats and Republicans, but between mainstream America and the ruling political elites of incumbent politicians, lobbyists, big business, big unions, big banks, big special interests and the big media.
The power elite asks, “When will this be over?” Although this is seen as a chaotic and temporary situation by most of the political and media establishment, our research shows a strong, evolving tidal wave of discontent and growing pressure for real and dramatic change.
Real change is what that the establishment fears most and fights hardest against. It is ultimately a losing battle.
This, in fact, is a revolution.