Congress ignores the public at its own peril

“Cutting spending is important, but getting people back to work is more important,” said Diane Sherrell, 56-year-old Republican from Erwin, N.C. “If people are working, they are more productive. There is less crime, there is less depression, there is less divorce. There are less hospital and medical bills. If you put people back to work you are cutting spending.”

Hunter hit the low congressional approval numbers earlier from the new CBS/NY Times poll , but this time, let's look at what the public wants. If there's one thing that's crystal clear, it's this:Among the other points of interest, in line with other polls, were:

• damage to the tea party

The public’s opinion of the Tea Party movement has soured in the wake of the debt ceiling debate. The Tea Party is now viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of the public and favorably by just 20 percent, according to the poll. In mid-April only 29 percent of those polled viewed the movement unfavorably, while 26 percent viewed it favorably. And 43 percent of Americans now think the Tea Party has too much influence on the Republican Party, up from 27 percent in mid-April.

• continued interest in spending cuts



44 percent of those polled said the cuts in the debt ceiling agreement did not go far enough, 29 percent said they were about right, and only 15 percent said they went too far. More than a quarter of the Democrats polled said that the cuts in the agreement did not go far enough.

• continued interest in tax increases



Though Republicans prevented tax increases from being included in the debt ceiling deal, half of those polled said the agreement should have included increased tax revenue as well, while 44 percent said it should have relied on cuts alone. .. Sixty-three percent of those polled said that they support raising taxes on households that earn more than $250,000 a year, as President Obama has sought to do — including majorities of Democrats (80 percent), independents (61 percent) and Republicans (52 percent).

• Obama less bruised than Boehner

The president’s overall job approval rating remained relatively stable, with 48 percent approving of the way he handles his job as president and 47 percent disapproving — down from the bump up in the polls he received in the spring after the killing of Osama bin Laden, but in line with how he has been viewed for nearly a year. By contrast, Speaker John A. Boehner, an Ohio Republican, saw his disapproval rating shoot up 16 points since April: 57 percent of those polled now disapprove of the way he is handling his job, while only 30 percent approve.

The public is ahead of the politicians. You can't deal with deficits without raising taxes. Even a bare majority of Republicans (51) want them raised on the wealthy. And the failure to do so is one of the major drivers in public dissatisfaction with Congress.

Added: the full poll is out and can be found here (.pdf).

Added: Poll Shows Negative View of Tea Party on the Rise from NY Times:

The percentage of people with an unfavorable view of the Tea Party in a New York Times/CBS News Poll this week was higher than it has been since the first time the question was asked, in April 2010. Forty percent of those polled this week characterized their view as “not favorable,” compared with 18 percent in the first poll.

Be careful what you wish for.