Congress somewhere below cockroaches, traffic jams, and Nickelback in Americans' esteem

Our newest national poll finds that Congress only has a 9% favorability rating with 85% of voters viewing it in a negative light. We've seen poll after poll after poll over the last year talking about how unpopular Congress is but really, what's the difference between an 11% or a 9% or a 7% favorability rating? So we decided to take a different approach and test Congress' popularity against 26 different things. And what we found is that Congress is less popular than cockroaches, traffic jams, and even Nickelback.

Here's what we found:

It's gross to have lice but at least they can be removed in a way that given the recent reelection rates members of Congress evidently can't: Lice 67 Congress 19

Brussel sprouts may have been disgusting as a kid, but evidently they're now a lot less disgusting than Congress: Brussel Sprouts 69 Congress 23

The NFL replacement refs may have screwed everything up, but voters think Congress is screwing everything up even worse: Replacement Refs 56 Congressmen 29 (the breakdown among Packers fans might be a little bit different).

Colonoscopies are not a terribly pleasant experience but at least they have some redeeming value that most voters aren't seeing in Congress: Colonoscopies 58 Congress 31

And you can make the same point about root canals: Root Canals 56 Congress 32

You might get a bad deal from a used car salesmen, but voters evidently think they're getting an even worse deal from Congress: Used Car Salesmen 57 Congress 32

Being stuff in traffic sucks, but voters are even less happy about being stuck with this Congress: Traffic Jams 56 Congress 34

America might have had to bail out France multiple times over the years but voters still have a more charitable opinion of it than Congress: France 46 Congress 37

Carnies may use loaded dice, but voters still think they have a better chance of winning with them than Congress: Carnies 39 Congress 31

It may be true that everyone hates Nickelback, but apparently everyone hates Congress even more: Nickelback 39 Congress 32

Genghis Khan did a lot of bad stuff but I guess it's faded from voters' minds in a way that Congress' recent misdeeds haven't: Genghis Khan 41 Congress 37

DC political pundits and Donald Trump aren't held in very high esteem by the population, but they still both manage to just barely edge Congress: DC political pundits 37 Congress 34 and Donald Trump 44 Congress 42

Cockroaches are a pretty good reason to call the exterminator but voters might be even more concerned if their homes were infested with members of Congress: Cockroaches 45 Congress 43

Now the news isn't all bad for Congress:

By relatively close margins it beats out Lindsey Lohan (45/41), playground bullies (43/38), and telemarketers (45/35). And it posts wider margins over the Kardashians (49/36), John Edwards (45/29), lobbyists (48/30), Fidel Castro (54/32), Gonorrhea (53/28), Ebola (53/25), Communism (57/23), North Korea (61/26), and meth labs (60/21)

But when you're less popular than cockroaches, Genghis Khan, traffic jams, and yes even Nickelback, well, it might be time to reevaluate.

Full results here

Comments

[abb3w]

Given the margin of error in the poll, it would appear that there is not a statistically significant difference overall between Congress and cockroaches.

[Thingumbobesq]

But...are they below pollsters?

[Dave Mowers]

It because everyone knows Congress is here solely to serve the interests of the rich who are by definition thieves. They steal our tax money, get granted special considerations on taxes, grants, credit, loans. Are given sweet heart deals all on the backs of the working class. Americans are ready for outright bloody revolution and when it comes I will die slaughtering as many wealthy families as I can get to so that their next generation of thieving children cannot control the lifetime incomes of the majority of patriots who actually contribute to this country.

[steve mcqueen]

And all you dumb motherfuckers are going to continue to vote incumbent.

[Jason]

I love you guys.

[Nancianne]

. Gerrymandering has ruined the House and the senate is filled with long timers who are mostly concerned with their own re-elections not the people they represent.

[Mike]

How about you conduct a follow-up poll and see which sub-group of Congress is the worst? Senate vs. House or Dems vs. Reps. The expectation of course, if everyone voted along their own partisan lines, would be that the Dems are slightly more favored in the Senate and Reps are more favored in the House. But would that really be true? Who (or which party) does America really blame for our ineffective Congress?

[Tamara Andersen.]

Dave Mowers is an idiot. Class envy is not going to solve the problem! Special interests are part of the problem, but the budget is busted because of entitlement programs not because of tax breaks for the wealthy. If we took 100% of their income, we couldn't balance the budget. Your hatred of the wealthy is part of the problem...

[Daniel Small]

This cannot be correct in any way shape or form. This poll is completely flawed, afterall, how could 92% of the incumbents be re-elected if this is truly how the American people feel. I guess you can't fix good 'ol American stupidity. Appratnely, Congress relies on very heavily!! Isn't it time to wake up??

[Frank Carroll]

And where does Congress fair against Mr. D. Trump?

[Anita]

Congress could have a 1% approval rating and they still would not care, nor would they change their ways. They know they will be re-elected.

[James Anderson Merritt]

@Daniel Small: No, you can't fix good'ol American stupidity. But you can fix good'ol American elections. If you know what I mean.

[Nam Marine]

Congress...........sucks!

[Terry in Sydney, Australia]

If cockroaches are more popular than Congress, perhaps Gregor Samsa should run as an independent?

[Joe Smith]

When was the last time America "bailed out" France recently? What the heck kind of statement is that? Don't say WW2 that was over 60 years ago

[Benjamin]

The problem is that people don't like "congress" but they like they're rep usually.

I love my districts representative to the house.

Of course I don't care for my states senators.

Also, I just want to point out that Dave Mowers up their should probably be on a list.... Advocating bloody revolution is serious stuff.

[C. P. Jackson]

...and the problem is that we let people vote who don't know English well enough to understand the proper usage of "they're" vs. "their", "districts" vs. "district's", "states" vs. "state's", or "their" vs. "there".

[Bo McCarthy]

C.P. Jackson....you made my day. Your comment took the words right out of my mouth. Hilarious but true. You killed me.

[Greg]

Daniel Small: 92% of the incumbents are re-elected because the others trying for election are a worse choice. It shows the talent of people running for office.

[Kathleen Muster]

Start voting all incumbents out! A new Congress isn't already bought and paid for and we'll have a couple of years where something useful might get done!

[Rachael]

the problem is everyone thinks it is not "their" member of congress that is the problem. it is the other guy

[V Kenney]

Congress for some reason is concerned only with money. The Congress does not care about the people just the numbers. In America we need to put the humane back into human. People must be placed before anything else. It is time for a new Congress. Something has to change.