GOP Favorability Rating The Worst Since Clinton Impeachment

Here are some additional public polling numbers likely to comfort Democrats concerned about the 2010 elections.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows that the Republican Party's favorability rating is the lowest since the height of its efforts to impeach former President Bill Clinton.

Only 36 percent of polled voters said that they had a positive view of the Republican Party, the lowest that has been registered by CNN since December 1998 (when the party had a 31 percent favorable rating). The GOP also had a 36 percent favorable rating in June 2007 -- the waning months of the Bush administration.

The decade-long low for the GOP certainly challenges the conventional wisdom that the party stands in strong position to make major gains in the upcoming congressional elections. It also should spur a bit of reflection over the course of strategy the party has pursued with Barack Obama in the White House. Incessant sparring, it seems, has had the effect of bringing down the ratings of both parties, not simply the one in power.

The CNN poll showed that 53 percent of the public currently has a positive view of the Democratic Party -- down five percentage points since February. The GOP, meanwhile, has lost three percentage points of popularity during that same time frame and is now viewed negatively by 54 percent of the public.

When looking at Congress specifically, the numbers are a bit closer (and, by relation, more dire for Democrats. Thirty-eight percent of those polled approved of the job Democratic leaders are doing in Congress, down from the 60 percent approval rating in February. Meanwhile, 33 percent of those polled approved of the job being done by congressional Republicans, down from 44 percent in February.

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Comments

[kasinca]

GOP = Dying Party

[Lilly-G]

As republicans say no to everything, the American people say no to republicans.

You get what you give.

[bill456]

Last time GOP had a strong party that screwed up, this time they have a weak party that is screwing up...

[grf67]

With limbaugh, beck, coulter, ingram, mcconnell, and boehner in charge, what else would you expect?

[cybolt]

"B-b-b-b-but, the emails I git evry murnin' in mah inbox don't say nuthin' lahk this.

The R-N-C says we's doin goohd."

[dessertsfirst]

It's beyond my wildest imagination that the GOP would opt for bringing down the President, rather than working their toushes off to ensure that their constituents would get health care benefits (which they themselves enjoy, complements of the same constituents), that their constituents would be able to get affordable and manageable mortgages (which are nearly non-existent despite the bank bailout that we all were against), and that jobs would be created in their states w/ the stimulus monies....

So. The strategy of bringing down the President for the GOP to regain power! And in following that strategy, nobody wins! Yeah, that makes sense.

[One more Thing]

Michael Steele has a plan to increase the Republican's popularity: He has signed a contract with that Colorado family to build and launch balloons for the party!

[tippytoejoe]

This is good news because after the Impeachment hearings, the GOP took over the Presidency and the Congress. Hopefully, history will repeat itself. Look ing at the declining approvals of the president and the majority leaders of the house and senate shold tell you that the GOP is looking really good.

[Tim303]

Your fast forward highly edited version missed out 9/11 and the resultant fascism, a stolen election. and on and on.

[bill456]

Yea, looking really gooood....you got Dems where you want them, right?....

[BlueRoseofTexas]

Take another big drink of Koolaid. Amazing how it can help you see things are they really aren't.

[oldguru]

Um, am I remembering the sequence of events correctly? I think the impeachment came AFTER the Republicans took over congress. Otherwise there would have been no impeachment. Gingrich and Delay were leading the congress and the Repubs were in control of the committees. Lindsey Graham was running around breathlessly with all the latest rumors. The entire Republican party was in total hysterics to do some payback for Nixon. Anyone in this country who had any sense was pretty disgusted with the stupid antics of the Republicans.

[BurgessPenguin]

I seem to recall that when the GOP "took over" the presidency and Congress, that they promised a "permanent conservative majority." That didn't work out too well, did it?

[soldiergirl]

If the republican's favorability ratings have fallen, they have no one to blame but themselves. Right now, a lot of people see them as the party of no solutions.

It would have been funny if it weren't pitiful, when the republican's brought out their budget plan with no numbers.

The republican's have not offered a better plan for health care, but do not want to support anything that has been put forth. By the way, some states have their own versions of universal healthcare. In Oklahoma, ours is called Sooner Care.
Even though they know that the public option is much needed, they do not want to support it. Is it because there is something wrong with giving people a choice when it comes to their health care?

The republican's did not want to support the recovery plan, but now that it seems to be working, they have no problems with it. Some of the opposers of the recovery plan had no problems putting those dollars to work in their own states and districts.

And, for those that feel like the economy is not recovering, I can tell you that I can definitely tell the difference in my 401(k) plan now, versus a year or more ago. Things are definitely looking up.

If the republican's are declining in their favorability ratings, it's their own fault.

[lagumbo]

Well the republicans let limbaugh take the lead , and they followed. limbaugh said OBAMA must fail. Every republican in congress were afraid to think for them selves. limbaugh seems a threat to all gopers. Now they have put themselves in this box and now they none seem to get out. All they had to do was to work with the dems. and give the american people health care. No, they decided they wanted to give OBAMA his waterloo, BUT IT SEEMS the repubs. have reached their waterloo. Maybe DeMint has another suggestion.

[lmvd3]

Frankly, I suspect the Republican favorability rating is even lower than during the impeachment days.

[kimbanyc]

30 Republican Senators vote to protect rapists. That should bode well for the Democrats.

[GoDogGo]

Don't think this is a buffer for Dems: Bush took the White House in 2000 after the impeachment scandal and individual Congressional races matter far more than just general "Republican popularity."

[Nicole Sutherland]

this is exactly what i was going to post. this actually makes me more nervous. also it was a CNN poll

[noamjunior]

Corporate News Network has no love for democrats

[zest]

When will the repubs embrace David Duke as their canidate?

[slw1501]

And right after the Clinton impeachment, the Republicans won the presidency and both houses of Congress. Where is the comfort in that?

[GoDogGo]

Exactly.