Eighty percent of Americans are dissatisfied with Washington — including 30 percent who are angry, the highest level of anger recorded since polling on that question began in 2010. A new CBS News poll shows rapidly slipping approval of President Barack Obama and very low ratings for the Republican Party.
Anger at Washington has increased nine percentage points since December, and while the overall unhappy sentiment cut across party lines, Republicans and independents are more likely to say they were angry.
Additionally, 61 percent said that they believe the country is on the “wrong track,” up from 54 percent since February, according to CBS. Nearly nine in 10 Republicans say the country is on the wrong track.
As the negative sentiment increases, Obama’s approval numbers are decreasing. The president’s approval rating has fallen seven percentage points from CBS’ poll last month, with 45 percent approving of his job as president and 46 percent disapproving. In February, CBS found that 52 percent approved and 38 percent disapproved.
Congress’ job approval has also slipped from its already weak standing. In February, 14 percent approved of the job Congress has done, but now the CBS poll number stands at 11 percent approval.
And while Republicans recently rolled out a framework to appeal to a broader swath of Americans, the GOP is still seeing upside down approval numbers. The CBS poll found that 31 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Republican Party, while 60 percent saw it negatively. Views on the Democratic Party were more evenly split, with 45 percent viewing the party favorably and 47 percent negatively.
Of the sequester, Americans put the blame relatively evenly between Republicans in Congress and President Obama, with 19 percent saying both were to blame, 39 percent blaming Republicans in Congress and 35 percent blaming the president.
Americans appeared less concerned about the reductions in spending growth than they were prior to the sequester’s taking effect in March. At that time, just 12 percent believed the sequester would have no impact on the country. Today, 23 percent believe it will not have an impact. Still, more Americans believe the budget cuts will be bad for the country (41 percent) than good (28 percent).
The telephone poll of 1,181 adults nationwide, conducted March 20-24 consisted of 27 percent Republicans, 34 percent Democrats, and 40 percent Independents. It has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.
