As first hinted at by Atrios, it is time for the third release in the polling project. This release focuses on only two questions in the poll, #10 and #11, but they are doozies.
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 .
