Polling Project: Third Release
by Chris Bowers, Mon Jan 30, 2006 at 05:18:54 AM EST
Q10. Have you, personally, or your family followed the recommendations of the Department of Homeland Security on how to prepare in the event of a terrorist attack in you area?
Yes: 34.4% No: 61.1% Not Sure / Don't Know / Refused: 4.6%
That, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty big news in and of itself. According to our poll, only one-third of Americans have ever followed the recommendations of the Department of Homeland Security on how to prepare in the event of a terrorist attack. The question is even worded broadly enough to allow someone to say yes if s/he hasn't followed the recommendations, but their family has in some way. And still only 34% of Americans say yes.As we will be able to show you when we get the entire cross-tabs online, these results are consistent across every demographic you can think of. A majority of people of every religious background, every ethnic background, every regional background, and every income level say they have never followed the advice of the Department of Homeland Security. A majority of both men and women say they have never followed the recommendations. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents say they have never followed the recommendations. Usually, these majorities are quite large.
I think this says a lot of things. I think it says that the Department of Homeland Security is not doing a very good job reaching out to the public. I think it says that the Department of Homeland Security is not offering advice people feel is useful. I think this is something Democrats might want to talk aobut. I also think it says that people do not necessarily trust the federal government to give them good recommendations in these situations, as question 11 in our poll suggests: Q11. Should a terrorist attack or some other man-made or natural disaster occur in your area, how confident are you that the federal government's emergency response will be timely and effective?
1= Highly Confident, 5 = Not confident at all
1: 13.2% 2: 13.2% 3: 27.7% 4: 17.1% 5: 28.8%
Five months after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Americans still clearly have little confidence in the emergency response efforts of the federal government. This may play a role in why few Americans are listening to the department of Homeland Security.A prèss release concerning these questions will be sent over US News Wire later today. Also, stay tuned to MyDD, as there will be multiple polling project releases today .









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