US News

Voters to pols: Scram!

WASHINGTON — A record number of Americans want to “throw the bums out” of Congress.

After watching lawmakers dither on the debt and taxes for most of their term, 76 percent of Americans — the most in 20 years of Gallup polling — say most members of Congress “do not deserve to be re-elected.”

The disgust with Congress cuts across party lines, with 75 percent of Republicans, 68 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of independents agreeing with the statement.

Only 20 percent of voters think most members should be re-elected.

But in keeping with past surveys, most Americans like their own Congress members, with 53 percent saying their own representative should be re-elected and 39 percent saying they shouldn’t.

President Obama’s job-approval rating is 43 percent — dangerous territory for an incumbent this close to an election. Fifty-five percent said he should not be re-elected.