Voters' Approval of Congress Falls To 16%, Lowest Point in 12 Years (D+15)

[jefferson_dem]

Voters' Approval of Congress Falls To 16%, Lowest Point in 12 Years
By Jackie Calmes and John Harwood

Word Count: 948

Public support for Republicans' control of the U.S. Congress has eroded to its lowest point since the party took over 12 years ago. And with just 19 days until the midterm elections, both President George W. Bush and his party are in worse shape with voters than Democrats were in the October before they lost their House and Senate majorities in 1994.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News Poll shows that voters' approval of Congress has fallen to 16% from 20% since early September, while disapproval has risen to 75% from 65%. That 16% approval statistically matches Congress's lowest point ...

http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB116120412623296795.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj

Link to PDF --> http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/nbc-wsj_electpoll101806.pdf

[stevedeshazer]

1. 16% approval??

16% ???

[libhill]

2. Yup -

it's all over for the Rethugs - they had their chance to change things with their so-called Republican Revolution, and they blew it. All they managed to do was show the public their true colors. In my own case, I grew up moderately conservative myself. The Rethugs have succeeded in pushing me far to the left, probably left of even most DUers. They are greedy, corrupt, self serving, heartless scum bags. It's taken America a long damned time to wake up, (myself included), but better late than never, I suppose. Oh, did I mention that they are also unspeakable hypocrites? Sorry Rethugs - that tired old bull shit about: "Clinton got a B.J. in the White House, blame him for every thing since Eve tempted Adam" ain't gonna cut it any more...it is over you MFers.

[indepat]

15. What on earth are the 16% thinking?

:eyes:

[libhill]

19. Oh -

probably something along these lines: "Cain't vote fer no lieberal Demoncrats, they gonna git my guns, make my woman git one of them A-bortions, an' let them gay folk git married like real people. An' only them Republican fellers kin save us from them Eyeraq terrorists, what hates our freedom". In other words, they're morons. May seem like I'm exaggerating, but down in my neck of the woods, I know some idiots who have that mentality. I kid you not.

[indepat]

28. Bingo

[warrens]

30. They're everywhere

Fortunately, they are becoming a smaller and smaller minority. When I was working with Kerry in 2004 up in Wisconsin, my daughter went up to knock on a door. I saw an abortion bumper sticker on a truck in the side yard, and was just telling her to forget about that house when the door opened and this insane WITCH came out, screaming at the kid to get the FUCK off her property and take that OTHER COMMIE with you and never fucking come back on my property again.

That's the hardcore Republican party. They need to be institutionalized or deported. Treating them like fellow citizens is just insane.

[Bandit]

29. It is hard to think wearing those sheets and pointy hats

:shrug:

[OhioChick]

3. Holy cow........

Their approval drops as the days pass. The last I heard, it was in the 20's.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

4. Work Like Hell...

Pretend that in every race we're three points behind. Get out this weekend and canvass, lit drop, phone bank. Stand on a street corner with a candidate's yard sign. Anything.

Let's bury them...

[libhill]

5. Gonna be down right inconvenient

for the Rethugs to rig this election. Might even be enough to wake up Joe Sixpack and Suzy Haltertop...

[stevedeshazer]

12. Pour it on...

I'm a phone banker.

It's really great right now, because everyone is on our side.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

25. God Love Ya!

A lot of people hate telemarketers and robo-calls so much they won't do phone banking, but it's got to be done.

I'm lit dropping with my eight-year-old this weekend, and planting yard signs anywhere I can find the location.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Hmm, I wonder what happened 12 years ago?

:freak:

1994.

:freak:

Contract With America.

:rofl:

[libhill]

8. "Contract on America"

would be more appropriate, I believe...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. Contact?

Is that a misspelling or a reference to La Cage Aux Foley?


:rofl:

[libhill]

11. Oh, duh -

I meant contract...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

13. Still pertinent.

:thumbsup:

[libhill]

16. Thank ya for catching that -

I can't spell fer beans, but I hate to admit it... :)

[0rganism]

7. yowza -- that's cutting into the GOP rectal tissue, right there

We've gotta be talking erosion of their core base votes by now, not just the swings and the moderates and the terminally grouchy.

[Straight Shooter]

9. It must really suck to be a Republican these days.

:nopity:

[libhill]

14. What goes 'round, comes round....

N/T

[truthisfreedom]

17. you can be sure it sucked from the moment bush got in office...

thugs have been bullied, threatened and pushed around non-stop, and now this... they're hated.

[progressoid]

18. Yep, just a couple weeks to election & I heard Hannity bitching about

Madonna and her adoption today. Gotta suck when all you can find to whine about is an aging pop star.

[mhatrw]

20. Approval of Republicans at record low: poll (Reuters)

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2584688

With congressional elections less than three weeks away, the Republican party's approval ratings are at an all-time low, with approval of the Republican-led Congress at its lowest point in 14 years, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were less in favor of keeping Republicans in control of Congress, compared to 14 percent who were more in favor of maintaining the current congressional makeup, according to the poll.

Only 16 percent of respondents approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest level since 1992, NBC said. In October 1994, when Democrats held congressional majorities, Congress had a 24 percent job approval, NBC said. Democrats lost 52 House and 8 Senate seats in the 1994 midterm elections.


...

Asked who they planned to vote for in the congressional election, 37 percent of those polled said Republicans and 52 percent said Democrats. The 15 percent difference was the highest disparity ever in the poll and up from a 9-point difference a month ago, NBC said.

[aquart]

21. We hate their effing guts.

It just took some of us longer to realize it.

[truthisfreedom]

22. hence the uselessness of the diebold theft system.

they can't use it because the numbers are ridiculously in our favor.

[calimary]

23. This is true. An election is a LOT harder to steal when the numbers

are so lopsided. And they've been that way for some time now. Elections are much easier to steal when they're close. Nobody questions it in that case. There WILL be questions if they try it this time, in any number of races around the country. I'm sure there are some that are close in which they won't be able to resist. But it won't be the cakewalk this time that they're used to exploiting. The numbers ain't there, folks.

[0rganism]

24. question is, would they try to steal it anyway?

and what, if anything, would Americans do if and when they did try it?

what will happen then?

just look at the crap Blackwell's pulling in Ohio -- rigged voting machines are only one of a number of options for turning a race inside-out. would Blackwell dare to try to step into the governorship after being down 20 points in the polls?

how the hell will they try to sell it as acceptible? what about silencing the dissent that follows?

we may be entering some very strange waters with some very desperate and powerful people driving a sinking ship of state, very shortly. even if the thugs don't steal the election, this will be, by far, the scariest lame-duck session in my lifetime.

[jblack06]

26. As a lifelong Republican voter....

They lost me when they passed the Bankruptcy bill last year. However, the passing of the Military Commissions Act this year was the nail in the coffin. I cannot see myself ever voting for a Republican again. Stealing the writ of habeas corpus from anyone (citizen or alien) taken into custody on American soil left me stunned and staring for probably 4 or 5 minutes. You will see the numbers continue to go down. The Military Commissions Act (the loss of habeas corpus) was a HUGE deal to most Republicans.

I was born and raised a conservative and have voted Republican for the last 15 years. I can tell you that myself and many of my family and friends, all former conservatives, have had a major awakening in the last two years. I can predict a MAJOR shift in the house and senate this year and I further predict that the Democrats will have control again for another 40 years.

I would challenge most to look for the below the radar issues as reasons for the major shift in opinion among the Republican base. Believe it or not, I do not think it is because of the perceived "big" issues like Iraq, Family Values, Gay marriage, Mark Foley, the courts, etc. It is other ones like the Bankruptcy bill, military commissions act, higher education bill, in the previous session, etc....oh yeah and Jack Abramoff was a VERY BIG deal. We saw that, we didn't like it, and we don't want it to continue.

Yes, we were ignorant and politically unaware. But we are with you this fall and will be for years to come. America is more united now than it has been in years. All for the ouster of Republicans in a very big way.

PS: I love to come here for the latest breaking news features. It is great. FR makes me physically ill lately >:( Thanks for running a FANTASTIC and informative site!

[libhill]

27. Welcome aboard!

(From another former conservative who has been pushed Way too far...) :)

[HughLefty1]

35. Welcome jblack06

It's good to have you here...

Many in my family feel the same way as you. The media is blowing up the Foley mess, but that is not the issue that has many long time Repubs looking for change.

How any US citizen can support the Military Commissions Act is beyond me.

[eppur_se_muova]

38. Welcome to DU, jblack!

Glad to see the scales fallen from your eyes, even if it did hurt a bit.

[Mark E. Smith]

31. 16%. That's O.J. Simpson Level Approval

You have to work hard to get that disrespected.

[The Stranger]

32. I want it lower. Lower, lower, lower, LOWER.

Vanquish the GOP.

[lpbk2713]

33. No strange coincidence here ....

It was about 12 years ago sleazebag Gingrich (Jan 1995) took over as Speaker of the House and it has been downhill ever since.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich

[Exiled in America]

34. Yet Rove is confident (R)s will keep both houses - something's UP

[Up2Late]

36. Approval of Republicans at record low: poll (Reuters)

(I'm just amaized that 47% still WANT Republicans to control Congress)

Approval of Republicans at record low: poll

Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:30pm ET148

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With congressional elections less than three weeks away, the Republican party's approval ratings are at an all-time low, with approval of the Republican-led Congress at its lowest point in 14 years, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.

Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were less in favor of keeping Republicans in control of Congress, compared to 14 percent who were more in favor of maintaining the current congressional makeup, according to the poll. Only 16 percent of respondents approve of the job Congress is doing, the lowest level since 1992, NBC said.

In October 1994, when Democrats held congressional majorities, Congress had a 24 percent job approval, NBC said. Democrats lost 52 House and 8 Senate seats in the 1994 midterm elections.

NBC said the poll indicates people have been paying attention to the issues they are hearing about -- from Iraq and Bob Woodward's new book on the Bush administration's handling of the war to the unfolding scandal over former Florida Rep. Mark Foley's e-mail messages to teenage congressional aides.

{more at link) <http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-10-19T113040Z_01_N18268776_RTRUKOC_0_US-CONGRESS-POLL.xml>

[Rambis]

37. I love the smell of a dead revolution in the morning!

Go fuck yourselves GOP!