Rasmussen Reports: 42% of Americans would replace Congress with random folks found in the phone book

September 1, 7:27 PMAtlanta Political Buzz ExaminerEwa Kochanska

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Forty-two percent (42%) of American voters believe that a group of individuals randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the politicians currently in Congress, says the latest Rasmussen Reports survey. This number has changed by nine percent (9%) from last fall, when thirty-three percent (33%) believed the same thing. 

The same number, forty-two percent (42%) disagree with that point of view, and sixteen percent (16%) are undecided. 

Not surprisingly, the difference of opinions is consistent with party affiliation. Republicans would favor random individuals from the phone book over the Democrat controlled Congress by two to one, and Democrats believe the exact opposite by the same margin.  source 

But it still might not be time for Republicans to start basking in their new found popularity. In another poll, Rasmussen found that a whopping seventy- four percent (74%) of Republican voters believe their reps in Congress have not properly represented them in the past few years, and are all together out of touch with a main stream Republican. 

Fifty-five percent (55%) believe that an average Republican Congressman is more liberal than the average Republican civilian. Only seventeen percent (17%) believe that Republican Congressmen are more conservative than Republican voters- somebody please tell Colin Powell. Twenty-four percent (24%) say Congressional Republicans and GOP voters are about the same in their views. 

Eighty-four percent (84%) of GOP electorate want their reps to stand up for conservative values rather than try to find compromise with Barack Obama. Fourteen percent (14%) would like to see the opposite. 

"Those in President Obama’s party overwhelmingly want the GOP to work more closely with the President. And they have a wildly different perception of the relationship between Republicans members of Congress and GOP voters. While Republicans and unaffiliated voters tend to see Republicans in Congress as more liberal than Republican voters, a plurality of Democrats (35%) hold the opposite view and believe the average Republican in Congress is more conservative than GOP voters. Nearly as many Democrats (33%) say that ideologically, Republicans voters and their Representatives share common ground. Just 18% of Democrats believe than the GOP representatives in Congress are more liberal than GOP voters.

"Overall, among all voters, 51% believe it is more important for the Republican Party to stand for what it believes in than for the GOP to work with President Obama. Forty-two percent (42%) disagree.

"In late April, voters were basically tied on this question.

"Just 24% of all voters nationwide think Democrats should pass a health care reform bill that is opposed by all Republicans in Congress. Fifty-eight percent (58%) say Democrats should change the bill to win support from "a reasonable number of Republicans."

"Thirty-seven percent (37%) of all voters say the average Republican member of Congress is more liberal than the average GOP voter. Twenty-six percent (26%) believe the average GOP congressman is more conservative, and 28% say the two are about the same.

"Sixty-seven percent (67%) of all voters believe Washington politics is likely to become more partisan over the coming year. Fifty-one percent (51%) believe that Obama is governing as a partisan Democrat. source

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