51% Say Congress is Too Liberal, 22% Say It’s Too Conservative

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters nationwide believe that Congress is too liberal while 22% hold the opposite view and say it is too conservative. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 14% say the ideological balance of Congress is about right and 12% are not sure.

Republicans overwhelmingly believe that Congress is too liberal, a view shared by 59% of those not affiliated with either major party.

A plurality of Democrats have a different view. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Democrats say Congress is too conservative, 19% too liberal, and 26% about right.

Middle income earners are more likely than others to see Congress as too liberal. Among those who earn between $40,000 and $100,000 a year, 64% hold that view.

Congress is seen is much further to the left than the Supreme Court. Thirty-one percent (31%) of voters see the high court as too liberal, while 20% say it is too conservative. The plurality (42%) says the political balance is about right.

President Barack Obama is seen as politically liberal by 77% of voters nationwide.

In August, 18% of voters identified themselves as Very Conservative while 26% said they are Somewhat Conservative.

At the other extreme, 8% see themselves as Very Liberal and 14% are Somewhat Liberal.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of voters say they’re politically moderate.

The results on voter ideology are drawn from 15,500 interviews conducted for the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... nservative