Rasmussen Poll – 45% of U.S. Voters Concerned Government Will Use Military Training Exercises for Power Grab

As usual, recent mainstream media reporting on the controversy over the Jade Helm 15 military exercises, set to take place over eight weeks across several U.S. states, completely missed the point. Mainstream media focus was primarily about characterizing and demonizing Texans concerned about the exercises as backwater, paranoid rednecks with wild fantasies about an imminent government takeover. While exercises like these will always cause the imagination of some to run amok, the key point here is this: concerns that U.S. military exercises will be used to exert more power over states is not a fringe view.

In a bizarre contradiction, a new Rasmussen Poll shows that while 65% of U.S. voters favor the U.S. military conducting training exercises in their state, “45% of voters are concerned that the government will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states, with 19% who are Very Concerned.” Those are very big numbers.

Even if you ignore the 45% number, 19% are very concerned. That’s tens of millions of Americans who are so distrustful of government they think the U.S. military could be used to subdue states’ rights.

Personally, I think this is encouraging since the American public should have absolutely no reason whatsoever to trust the status quo due to the string of criminal actions they have taken in the post 9/11 period. So while the mainstream media smugly mocks the crazies in Texas, they fail to admit they have a serious problem which is not getting better. The American public’s trust in government is collapsing. When the next economic downturn hits and a tipping point is reached, distrust will morph quickly into outright dissent across the land.

From Rasmussen:

Eight weeks of U.S. military exercises this summer in several southwestern states – dubbed Jade Helm 15 – have some wondering if the government is preparing for martial law. Most voters don’t oppose such exercises, but a surprising number worry about what the federal government is up to.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters favor the U.S. military conducting training exercises in their state. Just 16% are opposed, but slightly more (19%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

But 45% of voters are concerned that the government will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states, with 19% who are Very Concerned. Just over half (52%) are not concerned that the government has an ulterior motive for the training exercises, including 26% who are Not At All Concerned.

This level of concern is perhaps less surprising given that 62% of Americans believe there is too much government power and too little individual freedom in the United States today.

Just 20% of voters now consider the federal government a protector of individual liberty. Sixty percent (60%) see the government as a threat to individual liberty instead.  Only 19% trust the federal government to do the right thing all or most of the time.

The only reason these numbers haven’t yet resulted in outright rebellion is because the population that distrusts the government has been so skillfully divided and conquered. See: Charting the American Oligarchy – How 0.01% of the Population Contributes 42% of All Campaign Cash.

But 56% of conservative voters are concerned that the training exercises will lead to greater federal control over some states. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of moderates and 67% of liberal voters are not concerned.

I find it very bizarre, and very interesting that “liberals” are least concerned about military exercises in the U.S.

For related articles, see:

Neither Republicans nor Democrats Top 40% Favorability in Latest Gallup Poll for First Time Ever

An Oligarch Dilemma – Recent Poll Shows 42% of Republican Primary Voters Couldn’t Support Jeb Bush

New Gallup Poll Shows the Least-Trusted Job in America: Congress

Gallup Poll: Americans’ Distrust of Media Soars to New Record

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

Follow me on Twitter.