Thursday - March 22, 2007

Approval Ratings of the Democratically Controlled Congress Plummet

Or Why Isn't the Left Leaning Media Harping on this Story? 

During the 2006 election, the left leaning media repeated the dismal approval ratings for the President and Republican Congress, over and over and over again.  Yet Gallup came out with a poll on March 20th, that shows that the current Democratic controlled Congress has approval ratings just as low as the 2006 Republican Congress.

The modest uptick in approval of the job being done by Congress has dissipated for the most part after only two months. Congress job approval had risen over the last two months after the Democrats took over control of Congress in early January -- fueled in large part by a jump in approval among rank and file Democrats. This month, however, Congress job approval is back down to levels quite similar to where it was in 2006. Democrats have lost a good deal of the positivity exhibited in the first two months of the year after their party took over.

According to Gallup's monthly update on job approval of Congress -- in a March 11-14, 2007, national poll -- 28% of Americans approve of the job being done by Congress and 64% disapprove. This marks a substantial change from January and February, with approval down nine points and disapproval up nine points .

 

The current reading suggests that Americans are reverting back to their pessimistic attitudes of last year, when Congress approval ratings were in the 20s for much of the year.

The explanation for the increase in job approval ratings for Congress in January and February lies in the fact that Democrats, and to a degree independents, became much more positive. This more than offset a drop in approval among Republicans.

This month, however, Congress job approval among Democrats has fallen back, and to a lesser degree among independents. Republicans -- already much less positive in January and February after their party lost control of Congress -- became only slightly more negative this month. 

Bottom Line

It is difficult to pinpoint precisely what is behind the drop off in optimism about Congress among Democrats. One possibility is that Democrats are disappointed that their party has been unable to do anything substantive about the Iraq war -- the dominant issue in last November's midterm elections. The increase in the price of gas and/or other economic concerns may also be a factor. Overall satisfaction with the way things are going in the United States and ratings of economic optimism are both down in the March Gallup Poll.

The other possibility, which is once again a good thing, is that Americans are finding the Democrat's anti-American legislation extremely distasteful.  Either way, happy days aren't here again for the anti-war, anti-American Democratic Party.

Trackposted to sissunchi, The Random Yak, Faultline USA, Maggie's Notebook, and basil's blog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.