U.S. Term Limits
menu
  • Donate
  • About
    • Board of Directors
    • Team
    • Rense Johnson
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Book a Term Limits Speaker
    • Contact USTL
  • PODCAST
    • Latest Podcast Episodes
    • No Uncertain Terms Podcast Library
  • Myths
    • Myth-Busting 101: “Congress Will Never Vote to Term Limit Itself”
    • Elections ARE Term Limits!
    • Lobbyists LOVE term limits
  • News
    • USTL Blog Articles
    • Press Releases
    • Pledge Press Releases
    • No Uncertain Terms Podcast
    • No Uncertain Terms Newsletter
    • Press Contact
  • Term Limits
    • Sign the Supporter Petition
    • Term Limits Legislator Pledge
    • State Legislator Pledge Signers
    • State legislatures with term limits
    • 116th Congress Pledge Signers
    • 2019 Special Elections Pledge Signers
    • Term Limits Election Results Since 2008
    • Term Limits Hall of Fame
  • Article V
    • About Article V
    • Term Limits Amendment
    • Model Article V Term Limits Convention Application
    • Progress Map
  • Take Action
    • Sign the petition
    • Volunteer for USTL
    • Volunteer West Virginia
    • Collect Petitions
    • Internship Program
    • Weekly Facebook Live Chat
    • Events
    • State Facebook Pages
    • Take Action on Term Limits Day 2/27
  • Current Actions
    • Contact Your State Legislator
    • Contact your Congress members
    • U.S Senate Resolution SJR1
    • Keep Term Limits on GOP Committee Chairs
    • Florida School board term limits
    • KY Action Alert
    • Save Michigan Term Limits
    • MO Term Limits on State Cabinet
    • Pennsylvania State Action
    • SC ACTION ALERT
    • WV Action Alert
    • WV Flip-flop Alert!
  • Search
  • More
    • Contact Us
    • SHOP
    • Social Media
    • Archive

Poll: Voters prefer head lice to the U.S. Congress


November 27, 2018

Congress rates lower than head lice among AmericansSounds like a joke but it’s actually true. In a recent No Uncertain Terms podcast, U.S. Term Limits’s Executive Director Nick Tomboulides and U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas referred to Americans’ ranking of Congress as somewhere in the vicinity of head lice and gonorrhea, respectively.

Congressional favorability ratings rise and fall over time and pollsters watch these political portents closely.  When we say rise and fall, we actually mean that the likability of Congress consistently hovers between a near rock bottom 9-20%… earning them a spot below America’s preference for head lice.

It turns out both Tomboulides and O’Rourke were referring to genuine research. In 2013, Public Policy Polling in North Carolina was inspired by a death spiral dip in Congressional popularity  – an all-time low of 9% — to ask: Do voters really think of members of Congress with the same disdain they have for traffic jams and colonoscopies?

It turns out they don’t. They prefer traffic jams and colonoscopies to Congress by a whopping 20 percentage points!

According to the PPP polling, Americans also have a higher opinion of root canals, Genghis Khan, used car salesmen, and Brussel sprouts. Even Nickelback, believe it or not, beats out the U.S. Congress.

But Americans are a discriminating lot. They are willing to see the virtue in the U.S. Congress when compared to Fidel Castro, lobbyists, meth labs, Ebola and the Kardashians.

You can find a link to the full poll results in our episode 16 program notes at www.termlimits.com/podcast.

Dissing Congress is a bipartisan sport. PPP reports that 82 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Republicans express disfavor of Congress, which is a very similar level of support we see in both parties for term limits. Clearly, this is one issue that unites Americans regardless of political affiliation.

While humorous, this polling uses state-of-the-art polling methodology and begs a serious question: If Congress is so universally disrespected, why are well over 90% of incumbents running for their own seat reelected?

The answer is that the system is rigged in favor of incumbents for the purpose of protecting them against the public’s ire. The vast majority of Congressional elections across the country are nominal, lopsided affairs. The automatic special-interest financial support and other advantages that come with incumbency are simply overwhelming and dissuade serious, goal-oriented people from running for those offices.

Only in open seat elections does the contemporaneous thinking of voters squeak into an entrenched Congress. Even then, the newbies are far, far away from the levers of power in a seniority-based system. By the time they get a shot at a committee helm, it’s too late. They have become acculturated to the swamp. Washington DC changes them before they are able to change Washington DC. It’s no wonder voters see them in the same light as playground bullies, replacement NFL referees, and pop stars like Lindsay Lohan.  

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Filed Under: Blog

  • ABOUT
  • PODCAST
  • BLOG
  • PETITION
  • CONTACT US
  • DONATE
Subscribe to our email list
Copyright © 2019 US Term Limits - All Rights Reserved

by U.S. Term Limits



Privacy Policy
1250 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 200
Washington, D.C.20036
(202) 261-3532
  • Donate
  • About
    ▼
    • Board of Directors
    • Team
    • Rense Johnson
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Book a Term Limits Speaker
    • Contact USTL
  • PODCAST
    ▼
    • Latest Podcast Episodes
    • No Uncertain Terms Podcast Library
  • Myths
    ▼
    • Myth-Busting 101: “Congress Will Never Vote to Term Limit Itself”
    • Elections ARE Term Limits!
    • Lobbyists LOVE term limits
  • News
    ▼
    • USTL Blog Articles
    • Press Releases
    • Pledge Press Releases
    • No Uncertain Terms Podcast
    • No Uncertain Terms Newsletter
    • Press Contact
  • Term Limits
    ▼
    • Sign the Supporter Petition
    • Term Limits Legislator Pledge
    • State Legislator Pledge Signers
    • State legislatures with term limits
    • 116th Congress Pledge Signers
    • 2019 Special Elections Pledge Signers
    • Term Limits Election Results Since 2008
    • Term Limits Hall of Fame
  • Article V
    ▼
    • About Article V
    • Term Limits Amendment
    • Model Article V Term Limits Convention Application
    • Progress Map
  • Take Action
    ▼
    • Sign the petition
    • Volunteer for USTL
    • Volunteer West Virginia
    • Collect Petitions
    • Internship Program
    • Weekly Facebook Live Chat
    • Events
    • State Facebook Pages
    • Take Action on Term Limits Day 2/27
  • Current Actions
    ▼
    • Contact Your State Legislator
    • Contact your Congress members
    • U.S Senate Resolution SJR1
    • Keep Term Limits on GOP Committee Chairs
    • Florida School board term limits
    • KY Action Alert
    • Save Michigan Term Limits
    • MO Term Limits on State Cabinet
    • Pennsylvania State Action
    • SC ACTION ALERT
    • WV Action Alert
    • WV Flip-flop Alert!
  • Search
  • More
    ▼
    • Contact Us
    • SHOP
    • Social Media
    • Archive