How piqued are Americans? Beginning in 1992, ABC News and The Washington Post asked people whether they were satisfied, dissatisfied, angry, or enthusiastic about the way the federal government works. In October 1992, anger at the federal government peaked at 25 percent and continued to hover at 20 percent until early 1995. This June, the same poll showed anger also reaching 25 percent, suggesting the midterms may yield a power shift similar to that towards Republicans in 1994.
A similar question by PSRA/Pew shows that anger toward the federal government was rather low in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the economy was doing well, but has been increasing since—with the exception of the period around 9/11. During that time of deep national unity, satisfaction peaked at nearly 60 percent and dissatisfaction reached an all-time low of around 35 percent. In the same Pew poll, those that were “basically content” with the federal government rose from 28 percent in June 2000 to 53 percent in November 2001.
For related polling on public anger, check out the latest edition of AEI’s Political Report.
Andrew Rugg is a research assistant at AEI, where Lauren Hitt is an intern.
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