(Week of 7/7/2012) Last week’s Economist/YouGov Poll found significant public disagreement with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act, the signature legislation of the Obama Administration. And while many Americans (especially Republicans) may have changed their opinion about the Court for the worse after the decision, both parties agree that the Court is worth keeping.
24% of poll respondents believe that if the Court continues to make decisions Americans agree with, it might be better to get rid of it entirely. But nearly twice as many disagree. Differences across the parties on this question are fairly small.
Americans aren’t happy with the Supreme Court. Although they agree that the Court should be able to throw out laws it finds unconstitutional, by four to one Americans say the Court gets too mixed up in politics. By an even greater margin, they say Supreme Court decisions favor some groups more than others. Again, Republicans and Democrats agree on all these items.
But is the Court trusted? The American jury is still out. 39% say the Court can usually be trusted to make decisions that are right for the country, but 32% disagree. And Republicans and Democrats are pretty much equally divided on this.
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association
