Congress’s approval rating jumps from 19 to 39 percent since January.
By on Mar 11th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Congress’s approval rating jumps from 19 to 39 percent since January.
A new Gallup poll out today found that 39 percent of Americans approve of the job that Congress is doing, up from 19 percent in January and 14 percent last year. The rating marks “the most positive assessment of Congress since February 2005.” Gallup notes that the increase suggests the reason for the improved ratings “include an assessment of the work Congress has been doing with the new president on the economy and other issues.” Indeed, since January, Congress passed an economic recovery bill, legislation making it easier for women to sue for pay discrimination and a bill expanding health care coverage for children with overall health care reform on the agenda.
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Another nail in the Republican casket.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:49 pmThe numbers will continue to go up as more RepubliCons are removed form office.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:52 pmWell, I am no authority, but I think it reflects that the public believes a Democratic congress with a Democratic president will actually work for the American citizenry.
Democrats were in charge of congress since Jan. 2007, but the obstinate repugs, led by Bush&Co, stymied legislation coming from the Dems; they preferred to focus on back-biting, name-calling, and partisanship.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:57 pmThe public has high regard for Obama, despite the racists and cretins who populate the base of the republican party, and they recognize that the hole we are in is very deep. Obama has the courage, vigor, and intellect to address our serious problems, and the public knows he needs a cooperative congress. All we have seen from repugs has been more of the same — all complaints, no solutions — all for the party, none for the people. So this congress has been given a push to work with Obama and help America.
39% is still pretty low, and I had trouble with the 14% before. The problem is that most people have no idea what congress is doing, or even what they are supposed to do. I wish they would construct the poll in a different fashion.
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the job congress is doing now?
2. Do you believe that congress is doing a better job than they were 6 months ago?
3. Who is your congressman?
4. How many senators does the state of Maryland have in comparison to the state of Texas?
5. What are the three branches of government?
6. Was President Obama born in Kenya?
If they screw up the bottom four answers, I don’t think we should include their answers for the top two. I think if the general public were more educated about their government, how it works, and what they’ve been doing this last few months, the approval rates would be much higher.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:59 pmSo Americans like our “Leftest Commie Radical” agenda…
….Suck on that Archie Blowsgoats…
…Radical Reichwingers are on the way out.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:07 pmThis I find hard to believe.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:07 pmCongress can get a 75% approval rating if they would just send GW Botch and Dick(head) Cheney to The Hague for trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, extortion, and murder.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:08 pmI wonder what the conversation would like around here if we actually had trolls who made sense…
March 11th, 2009 at 6:11 pmFrom 14% (lower than the Quisling Quarter) to 39% (considerably higher). In just a month and a half, imagine that. There just might be some life left in America.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:13 pmArchie, 86% disagreed with you…do the math. Or find someone who can.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:14 pmI’m sure congressional approval is up because of Boehner’s tan and the R’s capitulation to the drug addict on the radio, right Archie?
March 11th, 2009 at 6:17 pmImprovement. Positive direction. Growth. Terms that make trolls and Republicans reach for a fresh Depends.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:19 pmHi Archie B…Hows life down in the bunker?
March 11th, 2009 at 6:21 pmI don’t care what Gallup or anyone else says about their polling, they are misusing statistics and these results do not reflect the views of the entire nation. As Chris LeJeune alluded to earlier, one problem is an under-educated electorate. Another is that the “margin of error”, so often cited as evidence of the poll’s accuracy, is not a measure of how much “up or down” the actual results would be. It is, rather, the probability that the sample selected is not representative of the range of results as a whole. One reason polls like these are flawed is that the people selected are not necessarily representative of the population as a whole. So one cannot extrapolate from what 1,000 people say what a nation of 300,000,000 think. And, as to the argument that the results are consistent with previous polls is a false argument. The results are consistent with the results previously released, but that doesn’t mean they are accurate. I don’t care what Gallup or the other pollsters say. That’s just my humble opinion, of course.
I wish they would stop doing polls like this and accepting the published results as facts.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:27 pmthe rethug response….but but its because nancy reasgan learned us to just say no..no on progress no on health care for kids no on enviromental issues.. no on getting out of iraq..no on common sence she will be very pleased with us just ask st ronnie
March 11th, 2009 at 6:30 pmYou mean if I ask a thousand people in Fumbuck, Tn (providing I can find a thousand) their responses might be less than accurate about what the other 280 million people in the country think? I’m sorry, this sounds silly. All the pollsters tell us this isn’t the case. (REAL HEAVY SNARK!)
March 11th, 2009 at 6:32 pmHave to wonder what caused the jump up around 2007.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:37 pmChris LeJeune Says:
If they screw up the bottom four answers, I don’t think we should include their answers for the top two. I think if the general public were more educated about their government, how it works, and what they’ve been doing this last few months, the approval rates would be much higher.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
__________
Good idea, but very impractical. If every poll about government had a means-test like this, pollsters would never be able to get enough Americans to form a reliable sample size. Gallup might have to start recruiting poll subjects from India or something.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:40 pmEither that, HT, or just make sh*t up.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pmHi there Archie B;
March 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pmShall we begin cramming your mouth full of the cok again? I know I can say and do whatever I want relative to you and you won’t do shit and so does everyone else that reads here.
Archie B Says:
So Americans like our “Leftest Commie Radical” agenda…
————–
61% disagree with you.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
_____________
What are you basing this on? Or are you pulling it out of your ass, as usual?
If I were given this poll, I’d be siding with the 61%. Not because I disagree with the “Leftest Commie Radical” agenda, but because of all the Republican obstructionism, stalled nominees over pet issues, and Democratic capitulation.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:44 pmWell, if they were actually sensible, I doubt we’d be able to classify them as trolls. They’d be thoughtful, articulate conservatives politely debating the best future path for the country. I’m pretty sure that some of these people exist online because I know some offline. We don’t agree with on all the issues, but we can keep it civil and acknowledge each others’ points and sometimes even learn from each other. Needless to say, they’re closer to David Frum’s brand of conservatism than Rush Limbaugh’s, Michael Savage’s or Sean Hannity’s.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:00 pmArchie B Says:
Only 61% of Americans think that congress sucks!
You’re missing the point, but that is no surprise, coming from someone who can’t piss w/o missing the toilet.
After years of discontent with congress — the republican obstructionism and some democratic hesitance to blame — for an approval rating to jump 20% just 2 1/2 months in is significant.
More can and will be done, and the majority will continue to keep tabs. We take power one day at a time and go to work for the common folk, you just want power for the sake of power and act as though you aren’t meant to be stripped of that power.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:22 pmI am not sure what to make of the poll numbers given above, or these poll numbers
http://bp0.blogger.com/_MRs_Nt465oE/RhxY5gJ86GI/AAAAAAAAA2Q/EziFiOd6dg8/s1600-h/CongApprovalLongTerm20070405.png
that go back 20 years. The longer frame of reference is interesting as a comparison, but the polls were done by different groups and may have framed their question differently.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:30 pmThis after 8 years of Bush/Cheney proclaiming it was “normal” for congress to have low numbers, thereby justifying more anti-American behavior.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:38 pmOT: Hey, anyone getting a flashback feeling on this China confrontation deal in the S. China Sea? Remember the mid air collison between a US spy plane and a Chinese interceptor (piloted by the fatefully named Wong Wei?) Is this a thing with China to shake the cage of a newly minted Prez? Was there any such incident in ‘93 with Clinton?
March 11th, 2009 at 7:42 pmThey actually passed some legislation in a timely manner. They have a pulse.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:54 pmAny excessive optimism, about this crew of gonzos being on our side, is seriously jumping the gun. Watch your wallet.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:56 pm39% would represent the fools that think by taking away from the producers it’s going to make their lives better.
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:54 pmWho wants to have more than they need and why?
March 11th, 2009 at 8:58 pmAlGore Says:
39% would represent the fools that think by taking away from the producers it’s going to make their lives better.
________
Wow… that’s certainly a bold leap into complete nonsense.
That opinion is so “fact-free” it’s astonishing.
A veritable Hostess Twinkie™ of political thought.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:01 pmAlGore Says:
39% would represent the fools that think by taking away from the producers it’s going to make their lives better.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
__________
Oh come on… They already made it into a musical and then a movie based on the musical. What more can they take away from The Producers?
Idiot.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:10 pmhussein toasterhead Says:
Idiot.
___________
Hey!
I’m working this side of the street… I ALREADY called him an idiot, only more politely… what do you think the phrase “bold leap into complete nonsense” means?
March 11th, 2009 at 9:11 pmCongress approval rises as the stock market continues to decline.
March 11th, 2009 at 9:17 pmI thought the market rose bothe today and yesterday? Admittedly the last I looked today was at like3 pm but still
March 11th, 2009 at 9:53 pmAre you implying some sort of causal effect there?
March 11th, 2009 at 10:06 pmralph the wonder llama Says:
Are you implying some sort of causal effect there?
March 11th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
____________
Nah, he doesn’t believe in science. So it’s obvious that God is a communist – He wants Congress to succeed and the Dow to fail.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:20 pmThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
I’m working this side of the street… I ALREADY called him an idiot, only more politely… what do you think the phrase “bold leap into complete nonsense” means?
March 11th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
______________
The next M. Night Shyamalan movie?
March 11th, 2009 at 10:22 pmNow that’s a twist…
March 11th, 2009 at 10:36 pmStrange figures for a “center right” nation. ;)
In truth, even at their lowest ebb, the approval rating for Democrats in Congress remained a solid ten points ahead of the approval rate for Republicans.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:36 ambad news for REPUBLICANS , they are used to see approvel rating goes down.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:38 pm