Raleigh, N.C. – PPP’s newest
national poll finds a bipartisan consensus on one issue during a time of great
division: voters think members of Congress who vote to repeal Obamacare should
also give up their government funded health care. 74% agree with that sentiment
to only 12% who disagree. And there’s not much of a difference about it across
party lines- independents (80/8), Democrats (75/14), and Republicans (69/15)
all think that if you vote to get rid of Obamacare you should give up your
health insurance too.
The health insurance issue is just one data point showing how Americans
think members of Congress are overcompensated. Georgia Congressman and Senate
candidate Phil Gingrey recently complained about making only $172,000 a year,
but just 11% of voters in the country think members deserve to make over
$150,000 a year. 58% think their pay should be under $100,000 a year with a 40%
plurality falling into the $50,000 to $100,000 a range. There’s bipartisan
agreement about that as well.
“Americans are making it pretty clear that if they’re going to hurt because
of a government shutdown, the members of Congress responsible for it should
too,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling.
Similar to a Quinnipiac poll released this morning, we find Democrats
improving their position on the generic Congressional ballot in the wake of all
the controversy about the government shutdown. Democrats lead 45/40 on it, up
from a 43/42 spread in July. Two things have caused that shift- Republicans had
a 39/27 advantage with independents over the summer but have blown that and now
there’s a tie with them at 34% each. Republicans have also become less supportive
of their own party, going from an 82/10 intention to vote GOP to 78/13. That
shift has come largely among moderate Republicans who supported their own party
72/17 in July but now do so by only a 59/22 spread.
Approval numbers for Barack Obama and the Democrats and Republicans in
Congress come out about how you would expect. Obama’s approval rating is on
negative ground at 45/51, as we’ve found in our polling for months now.
Congressional Democrats are unpopular at a 39/57 approval, but Congressional
Republicans are far worse off at 23/69.
PPP surveyed 790
registered voters on September 25th and 26th. The margin of error is
+/-3.5%. This poll was not authorized or paid for by any campaign or political
organization. PPP’s surveys are conducted through automated telephone
interviews.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of President
Barack Obama’s job performance?
Approve …………………………………………………. 45%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 51%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Democrats are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 39%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 57%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 4%
Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of the job
Congressional Republicans are doing?
Approve …………………………………………………. 23%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 69%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 7%
Q4 If there was an election for the U.S. House
today, would you vote for the Democratic or
Republican candidate from your district?
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 45%
Republican……………………………………………… 40%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pope Francis?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 54%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 36%
Q6 In a recent interview, Pope Francis said that
the Catholic Church has become too
“obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage, and
contraception, and that the Church should
concentrate on being more inclusive. Do you
agree or disagree with these comments?
Agree …………………………………………………….. 59%
Disagree ………………………………………………… 23%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 19%
Q7 Do you think members of Congress who vote
to repeal Obamacare should also give up their
government-funded health care, or not?
Think they should…………………………………….. 74%
Don’t think they should……………………………… 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 13%
Q8 How much do you think members of Congress
should get paid: nothing, less than $50,000,
between $50,000 and $100,000, between
$100,000 and $150,000, between $150,000
and $200,000, between $200,000 and
$250,000, or more than $250,000?
Nothing ………………………………………………….. 7%
Less than $50,000 …………………………………… 19%
$50,000 to $100,000………………………………… 40%
$100,000 to $150,000………………………………. 21%
$150,000 to $200,000………………………………. 10%
$200,000 to $250,000………………………………. 1%
More than $250,000…………………………………. 0%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 2%
Q9 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 12%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 16%
Moderate………………………………………………… 33%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 19%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 20%
Q10 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%
Q11 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%
Q12 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 10%
White …………………………………………………….. 76%
African-American …………………………………….. 10%
Other……………………………………………………… 3%
Q13 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 42%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 38%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
Q14 What is your religious affiliation? Is it Catholic,
Protestant, Evangelical, Jewish, another
religion, no religion at all, or do you not care to
say?
Catholic………………………………………………….. 22%
Protestant ………………………………………………. 29%
Evangelical …………………………………………….. 11%
Jewish……………………………………………………. 3%
Another religion……………………………………….. 13%
No religion at all ………………………………………. 10%
Don’t care to say……………………………………… 13%
