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Americans Prefer Hemorrhoids And Cockroaches To Congress

he U.S. Capitol is seen on November 19, 2011 in Washington, D.C.
Brendan Hoffman
/
Getty Images
he U.S. Capitol is seen on November 19, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

We've known for years that Congress — as a whole — is unpopular.

But, with the government shutdown and a looming debt ceiling deadline sparking even more divisiveness and partisan bickering, Public Policy Polling, the Democratic automated polling firm that nailed every swing state in 2012, found that only 8 percent of the American public approves of Congress.

And just how much do they dislike them? Those surveyed said (pdf) they prefer hemorrhoids, cockroaches and toenail fungus to Congress.

Because we're NPR, we'll also note that 60 percent of the surveyed said they have a higher opinion of public radio fundraising drives than they do of Congress.

But there is hope — kinda. Congress polled better than the Ebola virus, Anthony Weiner and Miley Cyrus.

The margin of error for the poll is plus-or-minus 4.4 percent.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is an international correspondent for NPR. He was named NPR's Mexico City correspondent in 2022.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.