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 Reinforcing the idea that the November 2014 elections were about
Americans wanting more effective government, the poll found that 57
percent of those surveyed said Congress is more effective "when the
extremists on either side don’t have as much leverage," while 22
percent disagreed with this.
"It's much too polarized, too political now," said Penny Mahar, a
political independent from Whitesboro, New York, and one of the poll
respondents.
"Once, when somebody was elected to Congress, they would work with
the opposite party to try to make things better for their country.
Now they seem more focused on their party than the needs of the
people."
Congress has become slightly more productive in the last few months
since voters awarded majorities to Republicans in both the Senate
and the House of Representatives.
Bipartisan legislation to rework the pay formula for Medicare
doctors was passed last month and signed into law by President
Barack Obama, a Democrat.
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill on May 7 allowing Congress to
review a nuclear deal with Iran, and the House passed the measure on
Thursday. There is also been no government shutdown since October
2013.
Nonetheless, the Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 53 percent of
Americans still had an unfavorable view of Congress, with 47 percent
holding a favorable view. These views have not changed over the past
six months for three-fifths of those polled.
"There's so much conflict in Congress, with people in both parties
unwilling to compromise," said Mike Helferd, also an independent,
from Hilton Head, South Carolina. "Every once in a while they get
something through in spite of themselves."
Several respondents told a Reuters reporter they had not heard about
the recent legislative accomplishments. Most poll respondents, 71
percent, said they viewed Congress as either "mostly" or
"completely" dysfunctional.
"I don't think they've been able to really make changes. It seems
like it is still the status quo," said Dan Boesken of Batesville,
Indiana, who said he leans Republican.
The Reuters-Ipsos online survey of 2,749 Americans was conducted May
4-12. The poll's credibility interval, a measure of its precision,
is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.
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Sarah Binder, a professor of political science at George Washington
University, said the distaste for extremism shown in the poll
reflected the "general moderation" of the U.S. public.
"Despite a more polarized electorate, voters tend to be more
moderate than the politicians that they elect to Congress. So it
makes sense that a majority would say that Congress is more
effective when extremists are marginalized," she said.
The poll did not define "extremists." Some respondents, when asked
by Reuters to name groups they considered extremist, suggested Tea
Party conservatives, or on the other side of the political spectrum,
"ultra-liberals."
Some poll respondents saw reason to hope for more agreement and
productivity from Congress soon.
Helferd said Tea Party Republicans are already less able than they
once were to block legislation they dislike.
"They are so vociferously anti-anything that isn’t part of their
platform, I think they are losing popularity," he said.
Mahar hoped Senator Chuck Schumer, expected to become the chamber's
next Democratic leader, will work with Republicans to get things
done.
Harry Reid, the current Senate Democratic leader, "wouldn't move
anything," she said. "Everything stayed on his desk."
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh. Editing by Andre Grenon)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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