What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 16, 2017

Stories of sexual harassment and abuse continued to dominate the week’s news, especially early on, but as the week progressed, the near completion of the Republican tax reform plan and Thursday’s repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules were also making news.

In Alabama, the decades-old allegations of sexual impropriety against Roy Moore were at the heart of his defeat in the special Senate election, and a third of Republicans think their own party should have refused to seat him had he won. Just 29% of Republicans think a victory by Moore would have been good in the long run for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

While news stories covering sexual harassment claims against politicians may continue to top headlines, GOP voters overwhelmingly feel the media gives favorable treatment to Democratic politicians. Democrats, however, are not as convinced.

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Most voters believe the accusations several women have made against the president and say Trump should resign if they are proven true. But Republicans are less inclined to believe that.

Meanwhile, sex and race are among the factors that shape the middle class identity to which majority of American adults hold.

The Federal Communications Commission yesterday voted 3-2 along party lines to overturn Obama-era net neutrality rules adopted February 26, 2015, also on a 3-2 party-line vote. That same month, 53% of American Adults opposed the FCC regulating the Internet like it does radio and television. A survey earlier this month, however,  showed that while Americans prefer free market competition, they are growing more interested in government control of the world wide web now that those regulations are on the chopping block.

President Trump announced a controversial decision last week to reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah. This week, the National Park Service reduced the number of free entry days into many national parks while also contemplating fee increases. Most Americans have visited a national park recently and believe the country has the right amount of national lands.

Wisconsin is moving forward with a plan to drug test some food stamp recipients, and most voters nationwide would like to see similar plans in their states.

Voters still tend to support the use of tissue from aborted babies for medical purposes but agree with the government’s decision to look into how Planned Parenthood is handling this tissue.

With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) now a point of contention for Congress, voters have less concern that helping those here illegally become citizens will encourage more illegal immigration, though they’re still torn over whether amnesty or border control is more important.

Whether justice was served in the July 2015 San Francisco killing of Kate Steinle by a five-times deported illegal immigrant is the subject of this week's Rasmussen Minute.

In other surveys last week:

-- As South Korea prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February, relations between their northern neighbor and the United States remain frail. But even with the looming threat from North Korea, few Americans support the U.S. team passing on the Olympics in the name of security.

-- Most Americans still believe religious displays have a place on government property, and they want to see more Christmas in schools, too.

-- Yesterday was Free Shipping Day, when many online retailers offer free shipping on gifts to be delivered in time for Christmas, but online shopping is already more popular than ever with 83% of American Adults planning to do at least some of their holiday gift shopping that way this year.

-- Thirty-four percent (34%) of Likely U.S. Voters now think the country is heading in the right direction.

Visit the Rasmussen Reports home page for the latest current polling coverage of events in the news. The page is updated several times each day.