A recent Huffington Post poll shows that some 22% would “strongly support” (12%) or “tend to support” (10%) their state’s secession from the union (complete results here). This result, combined with recent petitions for secession sent to the White House by citizens of Texas and other states, has led to considerable alarmist discussion of the […]
Archive | Public Opinion
A “Center-Libertarian” Nation?
In this recent article, James Rainey of the LA Times argues that public opinion has moved in a “center-libertarian” direction: Many debates have broken out about the meaning of last week’s election, including over whether conservatives should still push their claim that America is a “center-right nation….” A survey of last Tuesday’s electoral landscape suggests […]
Public Opinion on the Role of Government
Commentators such as liberal E.J. Dionne and even libertarian David Harsanyi are claiming that the election results prove that Obama won a great referendum on the role of government in American society, achieving a mandate for expanded government intervention. The CNN exit polls tell a very different story. 51 percent of voters said that government […]
Why We Choose Presidents Based on the Wrong Issues
By Ilya Somin on October 1, 2012 9:38 pm in Democracy, Political Ignorance, Presidency, Public Opinion
In a recent Slate column, John Dickerson points out that presidential elections typically focus too much on issues the president has little control over and too little on those that he has more effect on: Nothing tests a president’s temperament like foreign affairs. Though this presidential campaign has only recently touched on the topic, the […]
The Libertarian Personality
This recent Wall Street Journal article summarizes an important study of libertarians by famed political psychologist Jonathan Haidt and several other scholars: An individual’s personality shapes his or her political ideology at least as much as circumstances, background and influences. That is the gist of a recent strand of psychological research identified especially with the […]
The Arab Spring and the Video Riots
Ever since the Arab Spring began, I have been concerned that it could ultimately result in the establishment of Islamist regimes as bad or worse than the more secular dictatorships they replaced. One of the reasons for that fear is that public opinion in many Arab nations is highly illiberal and intolerant. As a result, […]
Outrage over Citizens United?
The Citizens United case spurred much outrage on the political left, including claims that the Roberts Court was sacrificing its legitimacy to aid Republicans by allowing corporate money to flow freely into political campaigns. Recently, many commentators have defended Chief Justice Roberts from speculation that he capitulated to political pressure in NFIB v. Sebelius by […]
Legitimacy, Popularity, and the Individual Mandate Decision
By Ilya Somin on July 13, 2012 5:59 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
In response to my post arguing that Chief Justice Roberts’ vote in the individual mandate decision failed to enhance the Supreme Court’s legitimacy, co-blogger Orin Kerr argues that Roberts may have been motivated by a different definition of legitimacy, one seemingly unrelated to popularity: If Roberts is thought to have been influenced by public pressure, […]
The Impact of the Individual Mandate Decision on the Supreme Court’s Legitimacy
By Ilya Somin on July 13, 2012 12:57 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
Various leaks suggest that Chief Justice John Roberts switched his vote in the individual mandate case in order to protect his own and the Supreme Court’s reputation and enhance their legitimacy. Whether or not that was his objective, it is interesting to ask whether the goal was achieved. Did the decision enhance the Court’s legitimacy […]
New Poll Shows that Majority Disapproves of the Supreme Court’s Health Care Decision
By Ilya Somin on June 30, 2012 9:49 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
A new Newsweek/Daily Beast poll of likely voters shows that 50% disapprove of the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act as a whole, compared to 45% who support it. Survey respondents disapprove of the decision to uphold the individual health insurance mandate specifically by a larger 49-38 margin. This is a significantly smaller […]
Peter Orszag’s Case for Compulsory Voting
By Ilya Somin on June 24, 2012 11:05 am in Democracy, Elections, Political Ignorance, Public Opinion
In a recent op ed, former Obama adviser and Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag argues that the the United States should make voting compulsory: The U.S. prides itself as the beacon of democracy, but it’s very likely no U.S. president has ever been elected by a majority of American adults. It’s our […]
Addressing “Extremer Extremists”
Like many of the other bloggers and readers here at the VC, I hold many extreme political views – “extreme” in the sense that they are distant from those of most of the general public. I’m probably among the most libertarian 1-2 percent of the American population. On the other hand, there are clearly libertarians […]
When is it Legitimate for Judges to Base Constitutional Decisions on their Perceived Legitimacy?
By Ilya Somin on May 24, 2012 10:00 am in Constitutional Theory, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
In a previous post, I argued that Supreme Court justices should not decide the individual mandate case based on the decision’s effect on their perceived “legitimacy.” Mark Tushnet asks, why not? [W]hy exactly shouldn’t [Chief Justice John Roberts] worry if he believes that a Court decision — any one, really — will impair the Court’s […]
Nonlegal Arguments for Upholding the Individual Mandate
By Ilya Somin on May 21, 2012 5:57 pm in Commerce Clause, Conservatism, Constitutional Theory, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Public Opinion
Both sides in the individual mandate litigation have developed a wide range of legal arguments to support their position. Some defenders of the mandate have also emphasized several nonlegal reasons why they believe the Court should uphold the law. These arguments have gotten more emphasis since the Supreme Court oral argument seemed to go badly […]
President Obama versus the Constitution
By David Kopel on April 2, 2012 11:54 pm in Congress, Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Counter-Terrorism Policy, Executive Branch, Federalism, Growth of Government, Habeas, Health Care, History, Individual Mandate, Jefferson, Judicial Power, Obama, Presidency, Public Opinion, Supreme Court, Uncategorized, War on Terror
President Obama today fired his opening salvo in an unprecedented attack on the Constitution of the United States. Regarding the impending Supreme Court ruling on the health control law, the President said, “Ultimately, I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was […]