Republican Takeover Of Congress Backfires and Makes Democrats More Popular

According to a new poll, from ABC News/The Washington Post, the American people are noticing John Boehner and Mitch McConnell’s failures. Since Republicans took complete control of Congress, congressional Democrats have become even more popular than Republicans.

Via: The Washington Post:

Congressional Democrats get higher approval ratings than congressional Republicans, and the gap has widened since last fall. In October, 30 percent said they approved of congressional Democrats compared with 25 percent who approved of congressional Republicans. In the new survey, approval of congressional Democrats has risen to 38 percent while congressional Republicans are up a slight 2 points, to 27 percent.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Boehner and McConnell are also making President Obama more popular. The President has gained five points in approval of his leadership. He now has a seven-point (45%-38% lead over congressional Republicans on the question of who has taken a stronger leadership role in Washington.

Seventy-three percent of those who believe that Obama is taking a stronger leadership role than Republicans view this development as a good thing. Those who view Republicans as taking the stronger leadership role are more divided (58%-32%) on whether or not this is a good thing.

It might appear to be counter-intuitive, but the Republican control of Congress ahead of the 2016 election is serving a helpful purpose to Democrats. Potential voters are getting an eyeful of the Republican agenda, and so far, they aren’t liking what they are seeing.

Congressional Republicans can no longer sit on the sidelines and blame President Obama or Harry Reid to for their failure to govern. They are the majority in the House and Senate, so it is their agenda, and their jobs on the line. The gerrymandered House is obvious to this reality, but the foreboding sense of looming failure is the key to Mitch McConnell’s desperation to prove that he can pass legislation in the Senate.

The Republican agenda is helping many Americans appreciate what President Obama and Congressional Democrats stand for, which is definitely not what John Boehner and Mitch McConnell had in mind on Election Night last November.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association