Congressional Ratings Hit All-Time Lows, 30% Say Most in Congress Corrupt

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The percentage of voters who think Congress is doing a poor job has reached its highest level ever recorded since regular tracking began in November 2006. Over half the nation’s voters (52%) now say Congress is doing a poor job, while just 11% give the legislature good or excellent ratings.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that the number of voters giving Congress poor ratings has jumped five points from a month ago. Before this month, the percentage ranking Congressional performance as poor had never exceeded 50%.

The low ratings stem from low expectations for Congress and generally unflattering perceptions of its members. Just 11% of voters believe Congress has passed legislation to improve live in America. Most voters (64%) disagree and believe Congress has done nothing to improve life in America, representing a three-point jump from last month.

Despite the low Congressional ratings, Democrats retain a solid lead over Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Just 41% think it is even somewhat likely that Congress will seriously address important problems facing our nation over the next six months. That number has improved slightly since last month. Most voters believe it is unlikely that Congress will address serious problems.

Three-out-of-four voters (73%) think most members of Congress are more interested in helping their own political careers, while just 14% think they are genuinely interested in helping people. Nearly a third (30%) sees most members of Congress as corrupt, while 43% disagrees.

Women tend to stay more neutral than men on their ratings—a plurality of women (45%) give Congress a “fairâ€