Poll Tracker

Members of Congress hosting town-hall meetings with their constituents should clam up and listen instead of doing most of the talking, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Aug. 31-Sept. 1.

Fifty-six percent of the respondents said it's more important for the members of Congress to hear what their constituents have on their minds than to explain the legislation. Thirty-seven percent say they want to hear from their representatives.

Forty-nine percent say they hold a favorable view of members of Congress who oppose overhauling the health care system, and 59 percent say the protesters at town hall meetings are citizens expressing legitimate concerns, while 30 percent say they are planted at the meetings by lobbyists and interest groups.

The results are drawn from telephone interviews with 1,000 likely voters nationwide and carry a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.