After the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the convention had created, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
According to the latest Rasmussen Reports, nearly half of voters don’t think we’ve kept it.
The survey found that just 39% of likely U.S. voters believe America has done a good job of keeping the republic, but 47% think that the republic the Founders created has already fallen.
Another 14% are not sure.
How far has America strayed from its founding principles? The Declaration of Independence says that governments derive their authority “from the consent of the governed.”
Only 26% of voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed, while 57% think it does not.
Another 17% are not sure. These findings are almost unchanged since July 2023.
--Sharyl Attkisson
