On the Illegitimacy of the Two-Party State

In recent months, Rasmussen polling has devoted a number of surveys to gauging public opinion on the size and scope of government.  This is not surprising given the outfit's known bias in favor of the Republican Party, which many falsely believe stands for small or limited government.  However, the results of these polls do not indicate a disdain for "big government" and a desire for "small government," at least in the way those terms are rhetorically defined by the partisan dead-enders of the GOP.  Rather, they force us to question the very legitimacy of the reigning Democrat-Republican two-party state.  Some recent findings:

• Only 39% of American voters believe the federal government operates within the bounds of the Constitution.  44% state that the federal government is unconstitutionally operating outside of those limits.

• Only 23% of American voters believe the federal government operates with the consent of the governed. 

• 48% see the federal government as a threat to individual rights, a finding corroborated by an earlier poll commissioned by CNN, which found that 56% believe the federal government poses a threat to individual rights. 

The latter finding is perhaps the most ironic, since a majority of Americans consistently tell pollsters that they are willing to trade away their rights and liberties for the promise of security.  However, perhaps they might reconsider as it becomes clearer that the state is willing to take them at their word, but only provide security theater in return.