Leaders in Congress have seen their approval ratings decline in the last six months, according to a poll taken Sept. 30-Oct. 4 by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
And maybe the unkindest cut of all is that the trend cuts across party lines, as Democrats and Republicans are losing faith in the leaders of their own parties.
Last March, the approval rate for the Democratic leadership in Congress was 47 percent, but now it has tumbled to 33 percent; in the same period approval for the GOP leadership has withered from 28 percent to 24 percent.
Among their own kind, Democrats garner a 57 percent approval rating, but the bad news is that's down 20 percentage points from its level in March. Republicans are losing less ground, but they have less of it to lose. They've shaved 1 percentage points off their GOP approval rating since March, and now are down to 42 percent approval among Republicans.
"Current job approval ratings for congressional leaders in both parties are some of the lowest seen since the Pew Research Center first asked these questions," Pew said of its findings.
The poll is based on telephone interviews with 1,500 people nationwide and carries an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. For questions specifically asked of members or one party or the other, the margin of error is plus or minus 6 percentage points for Republicans, and plus or minus 5 percentage points for Democrats.
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