Now 9 days into the government shutdown and counting, Americans currently have a higher opinion of cockroaches (44/42), witches (46/32), dog poop (47/40) and hemorrhoids (53/31) than Congress, according to a just released poll by Public Policy Polling, the U.S. polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Even government institutions like the DMV and the IRS are seen as more favorable than Congress currently, at 58/24 and 42/33 respectively, the poll finds.
While Congress remains divided amidst the government shutdown, Americans are united in their disapproval of the legislating body. Of registered voters polled, 85% disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Only 8% approve – Democrats, Republicans and Independents are almost equally united in their distaste for Congress, with only 7%, 10% and 8% approving respectively. Very conservative voters differed slightly with support of 15%.
The poll found that older voters disapproved of Congress at a higher rate than their younger people. At least 85% of registered voters ages 30+ are critical of the legislature, compared to 70% of those between the ages of 18-29.
“Congress having an 8% approval rating tells us one thing about how unhappy voters are, said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But it’s even more telling that voters have a lower opinion of it than annoyances like the DMV and jury duty, health issues like hemorrhoids, and even witches.”
The PPP survey was conducted between October 4-6, 2013, among 502 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%.
