Kick Them All Out! Distaste for DC Politicians at All-Time High
The public's displeasure with Washington politics reached a new high Friday with separate polls calling for all members of Congress to be fired and for a strong third party to challenge the 150-year-old dominance of Republicans and Democrats.
One poll, conducted for NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, showed that given the chance, 60 percent of Americans would vote out every single member of Congress — including their own representatives.
A separate Gallup poll gave the same 60 percent number for those who believe the country needs a strong third party — again a record high. At the same time, a new low of 26 percent believe the two major parties adequately represent Americans.
"Given the inability of the Republican and Democratic parties to agree on the most basic of government functions — passing an annual budget to pay for federal programs — it is perhaps not surprising that the percentage of Americans who believe a third party is needed has never been higher," Gallup managing editor Jeffrey Jones said.
Eighteen percent of Americans now say they are satisfied with how Washington is running the country, down 14 percent from the 32 percent recorded last month. It's also the lowest government satisfaction rating in Gallup's history of asking the question, going back to 1971 — through such crises as Watergate, the Iran hostages, the Clinton impeachment hearings, the war in Iraq, and the recession.
"What is stunning about these results is just how hard and how quickly public attitudes have landed on the shutdown," said Hard, adding that the poll underscored "a broad disgust for the political system."
Other polls this week have also indicated that Republicans get the brunt of the blame for the shutdown, but also show that nobody in Washington comes out looking like a hero.
The latest Associated Press-GfK survey, released Wednesday, found that 62 percent of respondents mainly blamed the GOP for the shutdown, while about half said President Barack Obama or Democrats in Congress bear much of the responsibility.
Most Americans, 68 percent, consider the shutdown a serious problem for the country, the poll found, although more than four in five have felt no personal effect.
Asked if she blamed Obama, House Republicans, Senate Democrats, or the tea party for the shutdown, 71-year-old Martha Blair, an independent from Kerrville, Texas, responded, "Yes, you bet. All of them."
The majority of Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, the survey suggested, with 53 percent unhappy with his performance and 37 percent approving of it.
Congress is at rock bottom, with a dismal approval rating of just 5 percent, the poll found.
Respondents seemed unsure about the looming showdown over the debt ceiling. Six in 10 predict an economic crisis if the government's ability to borrow isn't renewed later this month, but only 30 percent say they support raising the limit. Forty-six percent were neutral on the question.
The Journal/NBC poll of 800 Americans was conducted Oct. 7-9. The Gallup poll was taken among slightly more than 1,000 adults nationwide between Oct 3-6 and the AP poll was among 1,227 adults conducted from Oct. 3-7.
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Glad to help 
