Source:
Wash. PostFewer than half of all Americans express favorable opinions of the country’s two major political parties, with majorities across the board supporting the idea of an independent challenger in the upcoming presidential election, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Some 48 percent rate the Democratic Party favorably, marking a big drop from the lead-up to President Obama’s election and the party’s first sub-50-percent read in polling since 1984. At the same time, public views of the Republican Party continue to be even more negative: 53 percent see the Republican Party unfavorably; 40 percent favorably.
Independent voters are broadly critical of the two sides: 55 percent have unfavorable views of the Democrats and Republicans alike. Again, with a notable fall-off for Democrats from August 2008 when 51 percent of independent voters had positive views of the party, 41 percent negative ones.
More broadly, the parties’ current ratings are close to their all-time lows. The 40 percent rating for the GOP is down 11 percentage points from March 2006, when the party controlled both the White House and Congress. The low point for the party came in late 1998, just after the Republican House voted to impeach President Clinton.
Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/behind-the-numbers/post/sub-par-ratings-for-both-major-political-parties-with-most-open-to-independent-challenger-in-2012/2011/11/01/gIQAPtyRdM_blog.html?wprss=behind-the-numbers
poll results:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postabcpoll_103011.html