by Mark Silva
As members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill this week, they may have missed the big "welcome'' mat at the door.
It seems Americans have rolled it up.
"Congress is returning from its summer recess at a time when the public is highly dissatisfied with the job it is doing,'' Gallup's Jeffrey Jones reports today. "Last month, Congress' approval rating was 18 percent-- matching the lowest Gallup has measured since it first asked the question in 1974.
To learn more about this, Gallup has asked Americans to explain, in their own words, why they are dissatisfied with Congress. In a survey run Aug. 23-26, Gallup collected the answers.
"The poll results make clear that Americans who disapprove of the job Congress is doing are frustrated with perceived inaction -- either in general or in regards to specific issues such as the Iraq war, illegal immigration, or serving the needs of the people,'' Gallup reports. "There is also a widely held perception that there is too much bickering and party politics in Congress.''
This shows the results of the open-ended question, 'What are some of the reasons why you disapprove of the job Congress is doing?':
Not doing/passing anything (non-specific): 19 percent
Not making progress in ending the war in Iraq: 16
Need to pay more attention to the needs of the people: 14
Too partisan/Party politics: 11
Too beholden to special interests/lobbyists: 11
Need to stand up to the president more: 10
Democrats not doing what they were elected to do: 9
Too much bickering: 6
Not addressing illegal immigration problem/securing borders: 5
Spending too much: 5
Just going after the president/attacking him: 4
Gridlock/stalemate: 2
Other: 3
No reason in particular (vol.): 1
No opinion: 2
(Percentages add to more than 100 percent due to multiple responses.)
"It is clear that much of the frustration Americans have with Congress stems from the perception that it is not doing what it should be doing, or what the public wants it to do, including not passing anything (mentioned by 19 percent of those who disapprove of Congress), not ending the war in Iraq (16 percent, not paying enough attention to the needs of the people (14 percent), not standing up to the president enough (10 percent, and not dealing with illegal immigration (5 percent), or general mentions of stalemate or gridlock (2 percent).
"All told, 67 percent of those who disapprove of Congress mention some type of congressional inaction as a reason why they disapprove of Congress,'' Gallup notes. "That translates into 48 percent of all Americans who disapprove of Congress for perceived inaction.''
For more, see the report.
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Comments
Hmmm, with the Demoncrats in charge it is best that not much is getting done. In fact, no matter who is in charge, the less Congress does, usually the better.
And, in many ways I want the Demoncrats to continue with their witch hunts and bickering and shenanigans because it will just help the GOP come 2008.
So, actually in many ways I like Congress right now. Not much is getting done, which means the people aren't getting screwed and taxed, and with the senseless witch hunts, the Demoncrats look petty and partisan and the American people will sicken of their insanity and Congress will go back to the Republicans!
Posted by: John D | September 5, 2007 9:00 AM
No kidding. They should be happy they have anybody who approves of their criminality. I don't!
Posted by: Rob S | September 5, 2007 9:02 AM
The real problem is there's still too many republicans in there. Time to vote them out or shed light in their closet & force them out.
Posted by: RomanB | September 5, 2007 9:11 AM
Interesting to see that the top scores were for Congress failing to stop the occupation and not doing anything.
Virtually no district in this country is in favor of the current course of 'stay the course'. Is it so hard for our Reps to start seeing this?
Posted by: weinerdog43 | September 5, 2007 9:21 AM
The American people have ranked this present Congress at an all-time low.
Yet the Democrats persist in drawing their candidates (Clinton, Obama, etc.) from the very Congress whose rankings are so low.
Meanwhile, the top three Republican presidential candidates are NOT in Congress.
Do the Democrats have a death wish?
Posted by: Bruce | September 5, 2007 9:22 AM
The Democrats blew an advantage by failing to pass legislation instead they squandered their time on over 600 oversight hearings that are venom filled and going nowhere.08 is going to be good for the GOP.
Jerry White, Springfield, IL
Posted by: Jerry White | September 5, 2007 9:53 AM
It's not one party or the other thats ruining Congress, it is the people who hold the positions within. There's always corruption in politics but nowadays, politicians seem to have less of a conscience about their actions. Ronald Kessler points out, the way Craig responded to Congress is just one small example.
Posted by: weatherthestorm | September 5, 2007 10:19 AM
Too many republicans? Faulty logic, indeed. The republicans have no committee chairmanships and despite protests that they wouldn't during the campaign democrats aren't allowing floor votes on minority amendments and bills. The Democrats hold all the power in Congress. For 12 years they complained that their voice wasn't being heard. Now that they're in charge they're quashing the minority and doing even less than their predecessors. That's just politics today. Opposite sides of the same coin. They deserve their 18 percent approval rating.
Not doing anything, specifically the job of lawmaking that they were elected to do, is what has this congress in hot water.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 5, 2007 10:34 AM
John D --And, in many ways I want the Demoncrats to continue with their witch hunts and bickering and shenanigans...
Wow, its almost as if you could be talking about the GOP.
Posted by: kb | September 5, 2007 10:51 AM
John D says: And, in many ways I want the Demoncrats to continue with their witch hunts and bickering and shenanigans because it will just help the GOP come 2008.
I couldn't agree more! Lets face it, nothing much will get done during the rest of Bush's term. All congress will accomplish is more useless earmarks. We don't need "bridges to nowhere" or another "pig museums."
Posted by: nisleib | September 5, 2007 10:58 AM
Hey Nislieb how's that earmark "ban" going? You know, the one the dems passed that doesn't actually ban any earmarks. Are they okay because they're now going toward the Robert C. Byrd metals fabrication facility and not the bridge to nowhere?
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dems-unveil-ethics-plan-2007-07-31.html
Here's the story about the latest multimillion dollar egg Big Byrd hatched: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0815/p01s04-uspo.html
Posted by: Anonymous | September 5, 2007 11:06 AM
See, dem's, rep's, muppets, it does not matter. No one party is going to fix everything. The DEm's do not want to better the lives of the American people. They do not want to get the troops home. They do not care who has health care. The care about greed and power and getting more of each each minute of everyday.
I agree with people who ask: The dem's fought for power so long, and now they do nothing. They have power and control. Tha is all they have wanted. The rep's did not want to lose their power and control.
Jesse Ventura said it best when he ran for Governor in MInnesota. He stated that our founding fathers did not want "professional politicians". They envisioned everyday citizens stepping us to the plate, serving their country. As long as our current system relies on te richest getting the votes, nothing will change.
So to all dem's, you have control, now what? To all rep's, you want control back, but why? To ruin things even more?
Posted by: Rob S | September 5, 2007 12:47 PM