Only 15% of likely voters think the Supreme Court puts "too many limits on what the federal government can do."

Rasmussen reports.

30% think the Court doesn't put enough limits on the federal government. 40% thinks the Court gets it just right — which I presume is partly because people tend to trust the Court's authority on legal issues and partly because the Court is actually pretty good at providing just about the right degree of countermajoritarian balance.

That 40% — those who think the Court is getting it right — is about the same among Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated groups. But what about the rest of the Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated groups? Are they saying too much or not enough? Interestingly, the Republicans and unaffiliated voters are saying not enough.  The Democrats are divided into too much and not enough. All of that shows, I think that attacking the Court as "activist" isn't a very useful political move.

Thirty-nine percent (39%) of all voters trust the Supreme Court more than the other two major branches of the federal government – the presidency and Congress. Thirty percent (30%) trust the president more, while only 12% put more faith in the Congress. Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure. Those figures reflect only modest changes since May 2009.... 

Most Republicans (70%) and voters not affiliated with either of the major parties (54%) have a favorable regard for the high court. Democrats by a 50% to 42% margin do not.

But then 60% of Democrats trust the president more than the other two branches of the government. Fifty-five percent (55%) of GOP voters express more confidence in the Supreme Court, a view shared by just 19% of those in the president’s party. Among unaffiliateds, 40% trust the court more, while 27% have more confidence in the president.

Interesting how the "unaffiliateds" seem more in sync with Republicans than with Democrats.  This suggests it is not wise for Democrats to continue to denigrate the Court.