It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Congress’ approval ratings if the “nuclear option” to eliminate judicial filibusters is triggered as predicted next week — because the latest Gallup poll shows it has fallen to an 8 year low:
These are not good days for Congress. The latest Gallup survey shows that only 35% of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, and almost 4 in 10 say most Republicans and, separately, most Democrats in Congress are unethical. When asked about members of Congress going on a trip funded by a lobbyist, an action that has caused House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to come under severe criticism and possible investigation by the House ethics committee, more than 8 in 10 say it is at least a “moderately serious” ethical problem. Overall, the public’s low esteem of congressional members holds about equally for both Republicans and Democrats.
The latest survey on Congress’ approval rating was conducted May 2-5, 2005 showing that 35% of Americans approve and 57% disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. That is the lowest approval rating and highest disapproval rating for Congress since July 1997.
Will the “nuclear option” drive the polls up? And note this:
Ratings of Congress are highly related to people’s party affiliation. But even Republicans — whose party controls both the House and the Senate — approve of Congress by only a slim 49% to 45% margin. Independents and Democrats strongly disapprove — by margins of 62% to 28%, and 66% to 26%, respectively.
Why does Gallup think this is happening?
It is impossible to determine the exact causes for this continuing slide in the public’s approval rating of Congress, but the recent wrangling over the filibuster rule, intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, and charges of unethical conduct lodged against DeLay almost certainly have all contributed.
To quote the great thinker Aristole: “Duh…..”
If there’s any good/bad news for members of Congress, it’s that people of both parties seemingly agree on one point:
In a survey conducted at the end of April, 56% of Americans said that most Republicans in Congress are ethical, and 38% said they are unethical. Regarding Democrats, the pattern was almost identical — 55% said most Democrats in Congress are ethical and 39% said most are unethical.
Of course, the bottom line is that the phrase “Republican controlled Congress” is out there and is a key theme in constant news reports. If swing, centrist, and independent thinking Democrats and Republicans (versus campaigning party-liners) count, this poll could be a warning sign of worse things to come if the nuclear option is triggered and generates backlash.
This poll also raises the questions: (1)is there a “middle” in 21st Century politics, and are the consequences for going over that line, and (2)is there a genuine realignment of parties going on, where all older definitions of the “the center” and general consensus are now inoperative?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.