Posted by D. Cupples | Congressional Democrats are in the doghouse, but Republicans are facing even bigger public-approval problems. Oddly, some media are emphasizing how badly Dems are doing and seem to be downplaying how badly Republicans are doing. The Politico, for example, ran a piece today titled "The Angry Voter: Bad News for Dems," which starts off stating:
"Congressional Democrats certainly know the power of a throw-the-bums-out message. It vaulted them to power a year ago this week. Little wonder anxiety is boiling over inside the new majority as lawmakers ponder a succession of polls and reach an inescapable conclusion: Lots of people think they are bums, too.
"The anti-Washington mood in the country — aimed at both a Republican president and a Democrat-controlled Congress — has reached breathtaking levels. One has to reach back almost 30 years, to the low points of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, to find a time when there was such simultaneous disdain for both the executive and the legislative branches, as measured by Gallup approval ratings."
One must read 10 paragraphs down to see a message from pollster Stan Greenberg to congressional Democrats:
"The public dislikes Republicans even more than they dislike you."
Three paragraphs later, we start seeing numbers....
For example, Greenberg's "favorability index" rates Dems at -4 and Republicans at -17. That puts Republicans 13 points lower.
This is similar to the Gallup Poll results below (released September 25), which show percentages of people who responded favorably to one party when asked which party's politicians would do a better job on national security, national prosperity, and overall:
Democrats Republicans
Overall 53% 38%
Prosperity 54% 34%
National Security 47% 42%
Similarly, the Washington Post/ABC poll results (released October 2) include the following:
Congress's Approval Rating 29%
Approve of Rs in Congress 29%
Approve of Ds in Congress 38%
Blame Ds for Congress's inaction 25%
Blame Ds & Rs for Congress's inaction 20%
Blame President & Rs for Congress' inaction 51%
(WaPo/ABC poll results, questions 4 & 1)
No doubt, the media outlets reporting on polls feel they're doing congressional Democrats a great service by warning them about potential troubles ahead. Surely, the media should give the same level of service to Republicans.
Yesterday's Pew Poll isn't good news for Republicans.
Memeorandum has other bloggers' reactions.
Related BN-Politics Posts:
* CNN Poll: Bad News for Dems, No News for Republicans?
* Democrats So-Called "Control" of Congress
* New Poll: Record Low Approval of Bush & More
* Why Democrats Beat Republicans in Gallup Poll
* Approval Ratings: What do the Numbers Mean?
* Hoping for More Careful Polling Analysis
* New Poll: Majority of Republicans Support Strike against Iran
*
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