Americans overwhelmingly believe that the government is broken, according to a national poll released Sunday.But the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed.
Eighty-six percent of people questioned say that the system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no.
Of the 86 percent, 81 percent say that the government can be fixed, but 5 percent say it's beyond repair.
The percentage of Americans who believe the government is broken has increased by eight points since 2006.
"That increase is highest among higher-income Americans and people who live in rural areas," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, but those are the groups that make up the bulk of the Tea Party activists today."
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted February 12-15, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.