Congressional Approval at Historic Low

Source: Gallup poll

by Jeffrey M. Jones,The Gallup Poll
Posted: 2007-08-21 17:42:32
Filed Under: Elections News, Politics News
PRINCETON, N.J. (Aug. 21) -- A new Gallup Poll finds Congress ' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll.

That 18% job approval rating matches the low recorded in March 1992, when a check-bouncing scandal was one of several scandals besetting Congress, leading many states to pass term limits measures for U.S. representatives (which the Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional). Congress had a similarly low 19% approval rating during the energy crisis in the summer of 1979.

Americans' evaluations of the job Congress is doing are usually not that positive -- the vast majority of historical approval ratings have been below 50%. The high point was 84% approval one month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when Americans rallied behind the federal government. Since then, Congress' approval ratings have generally exhibited the same downward trajectory seen in those for President George W. Bush . Currently, 32% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing as president, a far cry from the record-high 90% he received in September 2001. Bush's current job approval rating is just three percentage points above his lowest.

There was a slight interruption in the downward trend in congressional approval ratings at the beginning of this year when party control changed hands from the Republicans to the Democrats following last fall's midterm elections. In January 2007, 35% of Americans approved of Congress, a significant increase from the 21% who approved of Congress in December 2006. That December rating tied the lowest in the 12 years the Republicans controlled Congress from 1995 to 2006. (contd)



Read more: http://news.aol.com/story/_a/congressional-approval-at-historic-low/20070821132809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

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This is what happens without effective leadership, instead one that sells-out its liberal base on FISA, impeachment, Iraq, etc. The pukes are smart enough not to ignore their constituency. Reid needs to be replaced immediately with someone articulate and is willing to fight instead of rolling over for the administration. We will pay for this in 2008.

to represent US, maybe they would finally get it.

Or maybe Deceitful. Duplicitous. Dreadful. Oooh - I know. It must be Doormat.

:eyes:
Instead of the REAL REASON which is because people are sick of their apparent impotence against bush?

be finding themselves in the MINORITY.

And some of them have the 'biggest mouths' (for lack of a better term) and spout the most bullshit. That's why I'll argue for a while and then just sit back and laugh.

they haven't been given enough press on what they did accomplish. The main thing they won't get accomplished is stopping the war. The republicans in the senate and bush won't let them. The only way is to have enough republicans cave in and help over ride bush's veto.

As far as the FISA bill you can't blame the whole congress for the blue dog republicans. They are trying to take over the house. They are republicans. They posed as democrats and made people believe they were democrats. It is a shame every damn one of them can't be thrown out of the democratic party and shown up for what they are. I think the first thing the 50- state Dean committee has to do is show them up and get real democrats elected. Not only to their seats but to the senate seats. That's where the bottle neck is. Then guess what, maybe they can kick Liberman's ass to the republicans where he is sucking up to. Let him know he is irrelevant at last.

Keep in mind, too, that this poll asks people's opinion of Congress as a whole, not Dems in Congress or Repukes in Congress. Dems are certainly unhappy with Repuke obstructionism in the Senate, as well as the timidity of the Dem leadership.

Not that the Dem leadership isn't falling short, mind you, just that there are other factors at work, and a poll asking people what they think of Congress is a pretty blunt instrument. (Useful for the MSM--Main Stream Misinformers--to point to and say, "See, the American people don't really like the Dems any more than the Repukes!")
:grr:

All that congressin' is hard work. If it weren't for that damn biased media refusing to report all the "good news"...

has stolen billion$. They don't care about us, or the future of this once great country.

:popcorn:

Moderates are... the ones who defend this congress's craven actions.

They don't have much support from anyone other than party loyalists.

Sometimes you have to decisively cross to one side or the other!

They have short memories of why they were elected, don't they?

That what it sounds to me, Congress HAS never had that high a rating, in the article this is pointed out (In the article, it is noted it is rare for Congress to get over 50% approval). Compared ot Congress as a whole, people always give their OWN congressman or woman MUCH higher rating then Congress as a whole (This is NOT from this article, but from previous article I have read on this subject). I notice THAT FACT is NOT mentioned in this Article, so I wonder why, can it be that Gallup wants to minimize Bush's drop in approval ratings, by connecting it to Congress's approval rating?

they are disatisfied?

Please tell me why we're supposed to rally around this useless bunch of LOSERS--and why we run the risk of getting tombstoned if we dare to criticize such a craven bunch of COWARDS.

Please use small words and try to be convincing.

:rofl:

Just so you know: I USED to BE a Democrat.

More war-mongering, more Constitutional destruction, more praise for the least popular Resident in history!