We got numbers to back it up: Americans hate the GOP-lead House:
The Monmouth University Poll also asked about the public’s impressions of legislative productivity in the House of Representatives. Taking into account that they may not agree with everything each party stands for, 53% of Americans say Democrats have been generally successful at being able to get bills passed when they control the House, while 39% say they have been unsuccessful.
There’s Vulgarmort’s basement/ceiling again. It’s weird how consistent that 39% is.
This is a significant contrast with views of the other party’s productivity. Just 28% of Americans say House Republicans have been generally successful at passing legislation when they are in charge while 65% say they have been unsuccessful. Democrats are more likely to say their party is generally successful at getting bills passed – 73% say this about their party but only 21% say the same about the GOP. This is different from Republicans, who tend to have the same view of both parties – 41% say Republicans are generally successful and 40% say Democrats are generally successful at passing legislation when they control the House.
This next bit is important:
“We’ve gone from one of the most productive to one of the least productive Congresses over the course of Biden’s time in office. Most Americans have noticed the disparity, but this metric does not appear to have much impact on their overall opinion. Views of Congress have remained largely negative over the past three years regardless of which party controls the House,” said Murray.
Nancy Pelosi’s speakership was one of the most productive in history, and yet the public is not aware of it. Is this bad messaging, the failure of our political press, or the triumph of Fox News?
As to the current moment…
Current opinion of Congress’ performance stands at 14% approve and 79% disapprove. The highest this rating reached since Republicans took control of the House last year was 23% (March 2023). Over the prior two-year term when Democrats led both legislative chambers, congressional approval generally ranged between 15% and 26%, although it did briefly top 30% toward the beginning of that term (reaching 35% in January and April 2021). Congressional approval has generally ranged between the mid-teens and the mid-20s since Monmouth started asking this question in 2013.
One might think this would lead to a Blue Wave in the upcoming election, but Possum Hollar and the Gerrymandered Districts (an oompah-and-flute garage band?) will return the bums to office because they have an R after their names.
The MPS Betting Window says that this is a sucker’s bet and will not accept your Quatloos.
Republished with permission from Mock Paper Scissors.
