Congress' Approval At Dismal 11 Percent

The Oklahoman's Chris Casteel reports from Washington that, “Every minute we debate, our poll numbers drop,” U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver told his colleagues on the House floor during the recent debate over the payroll tax.

“It's probably at a point now where they can't drop any further.”

They still can drop a little further. But not much.

A Gallup poll released on Dec. 19 shows Congress' approval rate at 11 percent, the lowest rating since Gallup began asking the question in 1974. For 2011, Congress' approval averaged 17 percent, the lowest annual rating in Gallup history.

“This month's record-low congressional job approval rating is one of a number of measures of Congress that have reached historical low points this year,” Frank Newport, of Gallup, said in a release accompanying the latest poll.

“This suggests that 2011 will be remembered as the year in which the American public lost much of any remaining faith in the men and women they elect and send off to Washington to represent them.”
Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat, gained fleeting fame in July for coining the term “Satan sandwich” to describe a budget-cutting deal. That deal was reached after a partisan stand off over the debt ceiling that took the country to the brink of default in the summer.

Before that crisis, there was the near government shutdown in April. Between the big battles, there were multiple skirmishes, not to mention the failure of the so-called “supercommittee” to meet its goal of developing $1.5 trillion in budget cuts.

Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, said the public disgust with Congress “is a reflection of where Congress is as an institution, and it's a reflection of how dysfunctional it is.

“People want us to come to some kind of agreement and compromise.

“Unfortunately, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better, and we're in for years of the same. Something will have to happen to shake up the system.”

Read more: http://newsok.com/congress-is-at-low-point-in-public-approval-polls-show/article/3635217#ixzz1higv0hRc.

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