Posted on 09/20/2006 10:56:42 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the congressional election less than two months away, an overwhelming majority of Americans expressed a negative opinion of the Republican-led Congress in a poll by The New York Times and CBS News released on Wednesday.
Only 25 percent of respondents said they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, and 77 percent -- including 65 percent of the Republicans polled -- said they did not believe current members of Congress deserved re-election.
The Times said public approval of Congress was at its lowest level since 1994 when Republicans wrested control of both the House of Representatives and Senate from Democrats for the first time in four decades.
Few could name a major piece of legislation Congress had passed and two-thirds said lawmakers had accomplished less in the past two years than in other congressional sessions, the Times said.
An overwhelming majority, 73 percent, said members of Congress were more interested in serving special interest groups than in meeting the needs of their district. Only 20 percent said they put the public first. Sixty-nine percent said lawmakers did not understand the problems faced by the public.
But the newspaper said the poll results did not indicate a sure victory for Democrats on November 7, when the party tries to pick up the six Senate seats and 15 House seats that would give it majorities in each chamber.
While 61 percent said they did not approve of the work of Congress, only 29 percent disapproved of the job being down by their own representatives, while 39 percent said their representatives deserved re-election. Forty-eight percent said it was time to elect someone new.
The poll found 50 percent of voters intended to select a Democrat in November, while 35 percent said they would support a Republican. Still, 45 percent said Republicans had a clear plan for the country, compared with 38 percent who said Democrats offered such a clear view.
President George W. Bush had an approval rating of 37 percent in the poll conducted Friday to Wednesday, no change from a poll in August. Approval of the way he handles terrorism also remained unchanged at 54 percent, and approval of the way he has handled the war in Iraq rose to 36 percent from 30 percent, the poll showed.
A USA Today/Gallup poll released on Tuesday showed Bush's approval rating had bounced up to 44 percent from 39 percent.
Strategists in both parties have said the glum mood of the public has created a desire for change and given Democrats the edge in the autumn campaigns.
Asked whether the coming election was about the president, 46 percent said it was not, while 35 percent felt it was a vote against him and 16 percent saw it as a vote for him.
The poll showed greater trust in Democrats than Republicans to tell the truth about the war in Iraq, 44 percent to 23 percent, and about terrorism, 42 percent to 28 percent.
Regardless of how they planned to vote, 54 percent of those polled expected Democrats would win more seats in November and 32 percent thought Republicans would.
About 40 House seats and a dozen Senate seats are seen as important battlegrounds with all 435 House seats and 34 of 100 Senate seats at stake in the November election.
The nationwide telephone poll of 1,131 adults, of whom 1,007 said they were registered voters, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Three-fourths of the respondents said they would "definitely vote" in the upcoming election.
"The nationwide telephone poll of 1,131 adults, of whom 1,007 said they were registered voters..."
89% of adults are registered to vote. Who knew?
The poll showed greater trust in Democrats than Republicans to tell the truth about the war in Iraq, 44 percent to 23 percent, and about terrorism, 42 percent to 28 percent. Regardless of how they planned to vote, 54 percent of those polled expected Democrats would win more seats in November and 32 percent thought Republicans would.
The nationwide telephone poll of 1,131 adults, of whom 1,007 said
WHEN was the poll taken? Another indication of a Junk poll is their failure to disclose that information. Some data from 2004 for the Chicken Littles to consider.
From Freeper StandandDeliver
Battleground 6/20-23: 41 (GOP) - 49 (DUm) - 11 (unsure) +8 DUm
AP/Ipsos 6/17-19: 40 (GOP) - 47 (DUm) - 10 (neither) - 3 (not sure) +7 DUm
CNN/USA/Gallup 7/30 - 8/1: 44 (GOP) - 49 (DUm) - 7 (undecided) +5 DUm
NBC/WSJ 9/17-19: 42 (GOP) - 46 (DUm) - 12 (undecided) +4 DUm
CBS/NYT 7/11-15: 37 (GOP) - 46 (DUm) - 8 (depends) - 9 (don't know) +9 DUm
Time 6/2-4: 37 (GOP) - 49 (DUm) - 4 (other) - 11 (not sure) +12 DUm
Newsweek 7/29-30: 41 (GOP) - 51 (DUm) - 8 (undecided) +10 DUm
LAT 6/5-6/8: 35 (GOP) - 54 (DUm) - 1 (Ind) - 3 (neither) - 7 (unsure) +19! DUm
Democracy Corps 8/2-5: 41 (GOP) - 51 (DUm) - 2 (other) - 6 (not sure) +10 DUm
-
2004 General Election Results: House +3 GOP / Senate +4 GOP
Pity for the Junk Media Democrats that 50-55% of these do not show up to vote on election day.
Ask 'em how they feel about the drive-by media? Bet it's lower than Congress.
"...But on the other hand, they can't be trusted with this security of this nation.
I need a poll to tell me I'm dissatisfied with the idiot dems in Congress? I don't think so.
Thanks for getting down and dirty and digging that info up.
Did a bit more research. Based on this poll, 89% of adults are registered to vote.
In 2004 only 72 % of all adult citizens were registered to vote.
Also "of the estimated 216 million people of voting age in November 2004....19 million people were of voting age but did not have U.S. citizenship" By my math that means that 91% of adults in the U.S. are citizens
As such the actual value that the poll should have given if it was accurate was ~66%. That's a long way from 89%.
If the poll they took was "representative" this means that over half of those not registered to vote lied about it.
Doesn't that make the poll kind of suspect? And that doesn't even include the issue of how many of those who are registered actually vote.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf
Asked whether the coming election was about the president, 46 percent said it was not, while 35 percent felt it was a vote against him and 16 percent saw it as a vote for him.
It doesn't. :-)
I understand they're not too satisfied with Reuters, NYT and CBS either -- and the "glum mood" causes many cancellations of subscriptions and viewerships.
These observations have a margin of error of zero.
is this 9/2/06 as in the lead, or 9/20/06?
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Congressman is the trivialist distinction for a full grown man.
All Congresses and Parliaments have a kindly feeling for idiots, and a compassion for them, on account of personal experience and heredity.
It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.
Mart Twain
That's Mark Twain...
I'm not happy either but it doesn't mean I'm voting for a rat.
Is this the same Reuters whose photographers doctored pictures in Lebanon to support Hezbollah?
Reuters is by far the most left wing bias media outlet in the world, they are trying to pump up the DEMS who are in a free fall.
Only 25 percent of respondents said they approved of the way Congress was handling its job, and 77 percent -- including 65 percent of the Republicans polled -- said they did not believe current members of Congress deserved re-election.
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