Americans aren’t happy with the growing size and spending of the federal government, according to a poll released by CNN last week.

This may have costly consequences for the Republican Party on Nov. 7, said Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science and WOI Radio’s “Dr. Politics.”

In the poll, 54 percent of respondents said the government is “trying to do too many things” that are best left to individuals and businesses, while an overwhelming 72 percent said they believed the federal government had increased the past four years under Republican control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives.

Schmidt said the growing government will pose problems for the party in power when voters head to the polls next Tuesday, because of traditional Republican claims to support smaller government.

“It hurts Republicans more than Democrats because they were always saying, ‘Let’s cut taxes and give money back,'” Schmidt said.

“And now [Republicans] are stuck with the problem they’ve overspent. Democrats have never had the problem of having to defend themselves on that.”

Schmidt said this is because Democrats have never championed themselves as standing for less government.

The poll also said 86 percent of respondents felt government spending had gone up during the previous four years – a belief backed by budget figures. The amount of spending set by Congress each year has increased from $649 billion in 2001 to $968 billion in 2005, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

But while many Americans may realize the federal government is increasing both its size and spending, most voters don’t realize what that means for them, said Kimberly Conger, assistant professor of political science.

“It’s just a question of whether people understand it or not,” she said. “It’s certainly not going to make a difference to people next week, and whether it will in two years will depend on the economy.”

When a voter’s personal financial standing changes, then they’ll see rising spending in Washington as important, Conger said.

“If they perceive it to be affecting their pocket book, then they’ll perceive it as a problem,” Conger said.

Voters – particularly Republicans – may already be disillusioned with the growth of the federal government under conservative leadership, though, Schmidt said.

Many Republicans, including radio’s Rush Limbaugh, are upset at their party’s disregard for traditional conservative spending. That may keep many away from the polls on Election Day, he said, and lead to even bigger problems for voters in the future.

“The problem is that both the Democrats and Republicans apparently now believe that government is the answer,” Schmidt said.

“And that means voters don’t have a choice anymore.”