If the just-released CBS News/New York Times poll is an indicator of anything, it is that Americans are very disapproving of the way Congress is conducting itself. In fact, the poll shows that the debt ceiling debate that brought the nation to the point of governmental shutdown, not to mention a possible default for the first time in its history, has pushed Congress' approval rating to its lowest point in history.
According to the poll, which was conducted on August 2-3, 82 percent of respondents disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job. It is the worst score since the Times started asking Americans to rate Congress back in 1977. The Times further pointed out that the rating even managed to sink lower than when the government found itself in the gridlock that led to an actual shutdown in 1995.
The poll indicated that more than 4-out-of-5 Americans believed that the debt ceiling debate was more about political gain than about doing what was best for the country. Almost 75 percent said that the debt ceiling negotiations harmed America's image in the eyes of the world.
As for who fared worst politically, Republicans bore most of the public's disapproval with 72 percent responding that Republicans handled the negotiations poorly. At the same time, 66 percent said that Democrats also negotiated poorly. President Obama's handling of the talks showed nearly an even division: 46 percent approved while 47 percent disapproved. All in all, though, the public simply disapproved of their elected officials' management of the debt ceiling negotiations.
The Tea Party movement, the more conservative faction of the Republican Party that seemed to drive the main narrative of the talks (more spending cuts, almost nothing else), saw their disapproval rating at 40 percent, their approval rating at 20. A full 43 percent believe they have too much power in Washington, a 16 point increase over mid-April polling.
The CBS/Times poll generally corroborates the findings of a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released earlier in the week. Taken when news of a finalized debt ceiling deal had surfaced, the poll indicated an 84 percent disapproval rating. The poll also found that 77 percent of respondents believed that their elected officials acted like "spoiled children" during the deficit/debt ceiling talks.
A third poll taken by Pew Research Center also indicated the overall dissatisfaction with which Americans felt toward their legislators after the debate. After Congress basically ignored the direction of most Americans (who wanted Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise that would see revenue increases as well as spending cuts), Pew asked what word best described the respondents' feelings about their elected officials. Words like "ridiculous," "disgusting," "childish," and "joke" were used, adding up to a 72 percent negative listing. Only 2 percent answered with a positive term. Republicans were a little more negative in their assessment (75 percent to 72 over Democrats). But the tea party and those in agreement were most the negative toward the debate (83 percent to 69 over moderate Republicans) of Republican-leaning voters polled.
The poll also indicated that after the debt ceiling debate, 42 percent saw Republicans less favorably, 30 percent saw Democrats less favorably, and 37 percent saw the tea party less favorably then before.
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