53% Say the Federal Government Threatens their “Rights and Freedoms”

53% Say the Federal Government Threatens their “Rights and Freedoms”

The president’s second inaugural address was what Charles Krauthammer and Charles R. Kessler, respectively, called an “ode to big government” and a “[reinterpretation of] American principles.” It was, in many ways, unapologetic and decidedly to the left of any inaugural oration delivered in modern American history -- and a far cry from the Lincolnian ideal. Ironically, however, while the American public evidently endorsed the status quo (i.e., trillion dollar plus-deficits, more bureaucracy, and bigger government) by re-electing the president, more Americans than ever believe that the federal government threatens their “