Polls: Voter/Independent's ire for incumbents reaching critical mass

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (AP/Photo Elaine Thompson)

Whether it was Gallup, Rasmussen, Pew, or Quinnipiac, the poll results were the same last week: anti-incumbent sentiment in this country is approaching the critical mass required to just “throw the bums out”.

The latest Pew Research Center poll shows that the popularity of incumbents with the voting public at levels not seen since they gave Democrats control of Congress in '06 and their historical removing them of that control in the '94 Republican revolution. Barely half, 52%, currently want to see even their own representative re-elected, a number that is even lower than the 55 and 58 percent for the '06 and '94 cycles respectively.

Even more troubling for Democrat incumbents is the revelation that self described Independents who plan to vote Republican next fall are 24% more enthusiastic (56 to 32) about voting than their Democrat leaning counterparts. (Perhaps not ALL those Tea Party attendees were astro-turf, Nazi nut jobs after all?)

Qunnipiac University's polls show trouble in both Ohio and Connecticut as Republican challengers made alarming inroads against Democratic incumbents.

Rasmussen's Presidential Approval Index has Obama still at a miserable negative 10% with overall approval/disapproval stuck at 50/49. In a possible predictive national mood for 2010, 60% of the voters in New Jersey felt that most of Republican Chris Christie's support came from those voting AGAINST the incumbent Corzine rather than FOR Christie.

Adding to the prospect of a voter revolt next year is the new Gallup poll showing Congressional approval among independents at a 2009 low with those same independents stating (at least for now) they are leaning Republican by a whopping 52 to 30 percent.

None of the numbers from last week bode well for the President and his party. But Republicans should not become overconfident. It was Independent voters that gave Barack Obama his historic victory last year, it will be those very same voters deciding his fate next year.

As both parties prove themselves more concerned about their own political power than the wishes of the voters that gave them that power, anti-incumbent sentiment will continue to grow and anger will continue to seethe. Anger that if not addressed will result in a tsunami of voter resentment washing onto the shores of Congress come next November.

A glimpse into that resentment comes from a friend's response to a recent National Republican Senatorial Committee's mailing requesting he donate to the cause. This is his reply:

“Why should I send you my hard earned money? With all your perks, wages, and benefits, you can spend your own money!
I spent 21 years in the U.S. Navy and now work full time to support my family. Both parties spend more time on “fact finding vacations” and squabbling with each other and too busy adding pork to bills to read them.
NEITHER party deserves my money or support!
You have to earn it – What have you done to earn it – NOTHING!

It is exactly that sentiment reflected in the polls today and the sentiment that will manifest itself in the voting booth next fall.

Message to Obama, Pelosi, Reid, McConnell and Boehner: Ignore at your own political peril.