Who Approves of Congress?

Submitted by Kelsey McLaughlin on October 6, 2011
Tags: 
America
Polling
Congressional Approval

The polls continue to show the same thing -- America isn’t happy with Congress. According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News survey, only 14 percent of Americans approve of what Congress is doing. With Congressional approval ratings sitting in the teens for the past few months, it’s clear that America is sick of the partisan gridlock.

After a year of stalemate and many barely avoided government shutdowns, it’s hard to expect anything else. The Washington Post looks at the more common question: Who makes up the 14 percent that is happy with Congress?

And what they found was surprising. Those who approve of Congress aren’t overly optimistic or unintelligent -- they’re either extreme in their beliefs or seriously jaded. While some of the 14 percent is made up of hyper-partisans who think that stalemate is a sign their beliefs are being represented, many of them are just sick of politics in general. They’re tired of the fighting, and have stopped following what’s going on in Washington in general.

Lastly, there’s a group of Congress supporters who may be the most realistic. The Washington Post spoke to a Massachusetts woman who argued that although Washington is broken, the lawmakers aren’t the ones to blame -- after all, we voted for them.