4 in 10 Americans can correctly identify which party controls the majority in the House and Senate per a new Pew Research Center study on Americans' political beliefs. http://www.people-press.org/...
Thirty-three percent of Americans can identify the majority party in only one chamber, and 28 percent -- more than one in four people (!) -- have completely no idea.
John Adams wrote that the most important duty of a citizen is to stay informed. Being knowledgeable of how government works and participating in the Republic's life are essential tests of a democracy. Our public fails those tests regularly.
Studies of how much Americans understand the workings of the government at all levels show that most have only the vaguest idea of how bills become laws. Thus Obama's support among Hispanics has eroded because HE has not gotten immigration reform through Congress.
Studies show that most Americans have only a rudimentary grasp of American History, of the role of leaders, of movements in political thought and social policy, or even of those they regularly vote for.
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Attributed to H. L. Mencken.
"In 2011, Newsweek gave the U.S. Citizenship Test to 1,000 Americans. Twenty-nine percent couldn't name the vice president. Seventy-three percent couldn't identify the reasons we fought the Cold War.
A 2011 Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 38 percent of Americans could correctly identify all three branches of government."
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
There is a lot more.