Our first Democracy Corps national survey of 2013 shows the Republican Party and Congress unpopular and out of step with mainstream politics and values.
· The Republican Party brand has steeply eroded since Election Day. Half of all voters (51 percent) now give the Party a negative rating and a third rate the party very negatively (under 25 on our 100-point scale).
· The Republican Congress’s job approval rating is at the lowest point in our tracking; almost three quarters (73 percent) of voters now disapprove. And just a quarter of all voters (24 percent) give John Boehner a positive rating.
· Americans do not trust Republican representatives and Congressional leaders to use good judgment when it comes to negotiating budget agreements with Democrats and the President. By an 11-point margin, voters say they trust Democrats more than Republicans and by a 25-point margin, voters say they trust Barack Obama more than John Boehner.
· On the other hand, Barack Obama’s job approval and personal ratings have climbed since the election and fiscal cliff agreement—54 percent approve of the President’s job performance and 53 percent give him a positive personal rating.
Strong majorities of voters view the Republican Party’s positions on critical economic and social issues as extreme.
· On the rights of gays, 60 percent view the Republican Party as extreme, 41 percent strongly.
· On women’s issues, 55 percent view the Republican Party as extreme, 40 percent strongly.
· On providing aid to the poor, 59 percent view the Republican Party as extreme, 39 percent strongly.
· On setting tax levels for millionaires and big corporations, 59 percent view the Republican Party as extreme, 43 percent strongly.
