Disapproval rate for Congress at record 82% after debt talks
WASHINGTON The debate over raising the debt ceiling, which brought the nation to the brink of default, has sent disapproval of Congress to its highest level on record and left most Americans saying that creating jobs should now take priority over cutting spending, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll
A record 82 percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job the most since The Times first began asking the question in 1977, and even more than after another political stalemate led to a shutdown of the federal government in 1995.
More than four out of five people surveyed said that the recent debt-ceiling debate was more about gaining political advantage than about doing what is best for the country. Nearly three-quarters said that the debate had harmed the image of the United States in the world.
Republicans in Congress shoulder more of the blame for the difficulties in reaching a debt-ceiling agreement than President Obama and the Democrats, the poll found.
The Republicans compromised too little, a majority of those polled said. All told, 72 percent disapproved of the way Republicans in Congress handled the negotiations, while 66 percent disapproved of the way Democrats in Congress handled negotiations.
The public was more evenly divided about how President Obama handled the debt ceiling negotiations: 47 percent disapproved and 46 percent approved
The public's opinion of the Tea Party movement has soured in the wake of the debt-ceiling debate. The Tea Party is now viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of the public and favorably by just 20 percent, according to the poll. In mid-April 29 percent of those polled viewed the movement unfavorably, while 26 percent viewed it favorably. And 43 percent of Americans now think the Tea Party has too much influence on the Republican Party, up from 27 percent in mid-April.
For more: NYT: Record disapproval rate for Congress - politics - The New York Times - msnbc.com
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Oh I know folks are going to complain that it's the New York Times. But other polls reflect the same sentiment. There seems to be consistency.
The American people have also have said in poll after poll that they want compromise to the point they demand compromise. Yet, the will of "We the People" was ignored and particularly by the Tea Party. Based on the reaction by the general public and by conservatives (see Frum thread), it was quite evident who took the US to the edge of the cliff.
The GOP would be doing themselves a favor by ditching the Tea Party because the Tea Party will probably drag them down in 2012.
WASHINGTON The debate over raising the debt ceiling, which brought the nation to the brink of default, has sent disapproval of Congress to its highest level on record and left most Americans saying that creating jobs should now take priority over cutting spending, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll
A record 82 percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job the most since The Times first began asking the question in 1977, and even more than after another political stalemate led to a shutdown of the federal government in 1995.
More than four out of five people surveyed said that the recent debt-ceiling debate was more about gaining political advantage than about doing what is best for the country. Nearly three-quarters said that the debate had harmed the image of the United States in the world.
Republicans in Congress shoulder more of the blame for the difficulties in reaching a debt-ceiling agreement than President Obama and the Democrats, the poll found.
The Republicans compromised too little, a majority of those polled said. All told, 72 percent disapproved of the way Republicans in Congress handled the negotiations, while 66 percent disapproved of the way Democrats in Congress handled negotiations.
The public was more evenly divided about how President Obama handled the debt ceiling negotiations: 47 percent disapproved and 46 percent approved
The public's opinion of the Tea Party movement has soured in the wake of the debt-ceiling debate. The Tea Party is now viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of the public and favorably by just 20 percent, according to the poll. In mid-April 29 percent of those polled viewed the movement unfavorably, while 26 percent viewed it favorably. And 43 percent of Americans now think the Tea Party has too much influence on the Republican Party, up from 27 percent in mid-April.
For more: NYT: Record disapproval rate for Congress - politics - The New York Times - msnbc.com
=================================
Oh I know folks are going to complain that it's the New York Times. But other polls reflect the same sentiment. There seems to be consistency.
The American people have also have said in poll after poll that they want compromise to the point they demand compromise. Yet, the will of "We the People" was ignored and particularly by the Tea Party. Based on the reaction by the general public and by conservatives (see Frum thread), it was quite evident who took the US to the edge of the cliff.
The GOP would be doing themselves a favor by ditching the Tea Party because the Tea Party will probably drag them down in 2012.
