Trust on Issues-On Economic Issues, Voter Trust in Democrats Is Falling

Democrats are still trusted more than Republicans to handle the economy by a 44% to 39% margin, but their advantage on the issue has been slipping steadily since November.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters found 17% are not sure which party they trust more to handle the economy, showing no change since the last poll conducted a month ago.

In the first poll conducted after Barack Obama was elected president, the Democrats held a 15-point lead over the GOP on economic issues. In December, their lead dropped to 12 points. In January, prior to Obama’s inauguration, Democrats held a nine-point lead on the issue.

Support for the $800-billion-plus economic stimulus plan put forth by President Obama and congressional Democrats has fallen over the past month. Although the plan has passed the House and the Senate, the overwhelming majority of voters are not confident that Congress knows what it’s doing with regards to the economy. The Senate and House versions of the stimulus plan will now be the subject of a joint conference to work out a package that both chambers can agree on.

A separate survey released today showed that 67% of voters think they could do a better job than Congress on handling the current economic crisis.

When it comes to taxes, voters say they trust the GOP more by a 44% to 41%, after the parties were tied on the issue in January. Related polling on the stimulus package showed that most voters wanted to see a plan with more tax cuts and less government spending.

The majority of Americans believe most members of Congress don’t pay all the taxes they owe. LINK

Voters trust Republicans more on national security - for the fourth straight month. Republicans now hold a six-point lead on the issue, after leading by eight points last month. The latest poll of voters on the War on Terror shows confidence that the United States and its allies are winning is at an all-time high. However, Democrats hold a two-point lead when it comes to the war in Iraq for the second straight month.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters trust the GOP more when it comes to immigration, while 37% trust the Democrats more. A month ago, the Democrats led by seven on this issue.

Democrats continue to hold big advantages on the issues of health care, social security and education


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