Home > US Congress’ approval rating on the slide
Fewer Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job than at any time since shortly after Republicans impeached President Clinton, a Gallup Poll finds.
Only 37% of Americans gave Congress a high approval rating, down from 45% last month, the poll taken last week showed. A total of 53% disapproved, up from 48% in February.
It was the worst showing for Congress since September 1999, the year after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives impeached Clinton.
Even then, Congress had an identical 37% approval rating. It hasn’t been lower since October 1997.
Meanwhile, President Bush’s approval rating remained fairly steady at 52%. The number of those who disapproved of Bush’s handling of his job was at 44%.
The decline in Congress’ approval from last month was about the same among Democrats and Republicans, whose party controls both the Senate and House of Representatives. That may be because Congress faces several controversial issues and not because of a specific one, analyst David Moore wrote on the Gallup Organization Web site.
"Democrats are even unhappier with the Republican Congress than before," Brookings Institution political analyst Thomas Mann said. "And many Republicans don’t like what they are hearing about Social Security and the budget."
The drop in approval for Congress was larger than that found in other measures of public satisfaction, Gallup Editor in Chief Frank Newport noted. General satisfaction with the way things are going in the country also slipped, but by only 3 percentage points, from 45% to 42%.
"We’re in a period of some bickering now because of Social Security, but also other issues where people see senators and congressmen arguing" on TV and in the House and Senate, Newport said.
American Enterprise Institute congressional expert Norm Ornstein said the poll could spell trouble eventually for Republicans, whose House majority leader, Tom DeLay of Texas, faces mounting ethics questions.
"When people are down on Congress, they don’t make distinctions between party," Ornstein said. "But ultimately, if you’ve got a low rating and you’re in the majority, you better be nervous."
Forum posts
16 March 2005, 04:29
Congress rating should not even be 37%, they are not doing their jobs and representing the people. The Senate is the worst! They are a branch of the Corporations they serve.
I give Congress a negative approval rating.
16 March 2005, 06:43
I co sign the above post.
Signed a former Republican and no I’m not a Democrat either. They both colluded to give us our current situations at home and abroad.
19 March 2005, 15:28
I couldn’t agree with you more! I voted for Kerry because he was the only Democrat left standing. I would have been more passionate about Kucinich or Dean and their platforms. Hell, Sharpton and Kucinich made more sense in the Democratic Debates than Kerry or Edwards, yet neither was given equal time. It was the Kerry and Edwards Show!
In the end, I passionately voted AGAINST Bush and the Neocons. Sadly Kerry supported the war as much as Bush did. Instead of truly exposing some of the dirt in the first Bush administration, he simply chanted about his Viet Nam service record!
Now, I can’t tell some of the Dems from the Reps (ie Lieberman, Salazar and Clinton)!
21 March 2005, 01:37
Finally the American public is waking up to the fact that we have a one party government here that can not be changed until all people who have enough intelligence to realize this refuse to take part in these so called elections. 50% of the people here that could vote do not, it would be so easy for the people to reclaim the government if they would join that 50% and make it at least 75% by not voting. Only then can the question of democracy be addressed. Until people stop validating phony elections by participation, will there be any change. The very definition of democracy is government by the majority...when the majority stop participating the term "democracy" will have to be removed from the definition of the form of government we are imposing on the people. Military dictatorship is an honest term for the government in the U.S. and it most crertainly is not democracy.
30 March 2005, 02:58
I get better representation AND protection from the ACLU. I fired my "representatives and senators" a long time ago. They don’t give a damn about the avg family...just their condos and bank accounts. Let’s face it, when the "servants" of the people are making a guaranteed salary of six figures with good benefits and an obscene retirement program, why would they care about anything but putting their millions in trust and banking the tax payer’s money. They need to listen and shut up for a change. I’d ask for assistance from the ACLU but I’d NEVER write to the congressional millionaires anymore!! Give the power back to ALL of the people and stop this insane war.