Majority of Americans feel current Congress worst ever: Survey

Washington : Almost two-thirds of Americans feel that the current Congress is “the worst in their lifetime”, and just 14 percent of those surveyed approve of the way lawmakers are doing their jobs, according to a survey released by CNN/ORC.

Just two months before the legislative elections in November, Americans are expressing clear anger at the actions of their lawmakers.

Eighty-three percent of those surveyed disapproved of the way Congress was doing its job and 65 percent felt the current crop of legislators was “the worst in their lifetime”, according to the survey released Tuesday.

Respondents, however, gave Congress an abysmal approval rating of 14 percent, that is slightly above the 10 percent approval rating from September 2013, which was the lowest in history.

Perhaps that is why both Republicans and Democrats have seen voter enthusiasm for the upcoming mid-term elections plummet. In the November voting, the entire House of Representatives will be selected along with one-third of the Senate.

Although in 2010, when the last mid-term elections were held, 53 percent of Republicans said they were intending to go to the polls, now that figure stands at 37 percent, according to the survey results.

Meanwhile, Democrats — who traditionally do not turn out as heavily for mid-term elections — have seen their voter intention numbers drop from 30 percent to 28 percent over the past four years.

Analysts say that the Republicans will keep control of the House, but there is uncertainty surrounding the post-election configuration of the Senate, where the Democrats could lose their majority.

The telephone survey, which polled 1,014 citizens between Sep 5 and Sep 7, has an error margin of plus or minus 3.5 percent.