LANSING, MI -- Congress avoided the cliff but continues to fall in the polls.

Public Policy Polling recently surveyed 830 American voters in the wake of the so-called fiscal cliff deal, asking respondents whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Congress.

To no one's surprise, 85 percent of voters said they were unhappy with the legislative branch of our federal government.

But PPP took their poll a step further with a series of follow-ups, asking voters whether they have a higher opinion of Congress or traditionally unpopular people, places or things.

The results, released today, indicate Congress is less popular than: Telemarketers, root canals, NFL replacement refs, lice, Nickelback, colonoscopies, political pundits, carnies, traffic jams, cockroaches, Donald Trump, France, Genghis Khan, used car salesmen and brussel sprouts.

But our elected officials can take solace (and design re-election bumper stickers!) around that fact that Congress is more popular than: John Edwards, the Kardashians, lobbyists, North Korea, ebola, Lindsey Lohan, Fidel Castro, playground bullies, meth labs, communism and gonorrhea.

"We all know Congress is unpopular," Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling, said in a release. "But the fact that voters like it even less than cockroaches, lice, and Genghis Khan really shows how far its esteem has fallen with the American public over the last few weeks."

The good news? Nearly 100 freshmen, including Michigan Reps. Kerry Bentivolio and Dan Kildee, were sworn in last week as a new Congress takes office. The bad news? They've been thrown right in the middle of an ongoing fight over automatic spending cuts and the debt ceiling.

It's not surprising that some people would rather listen to Nickelback.

Related: Fiscal cliff blowback follows Rep. Bill Huizenga as he tours new parts of West Michigan district

Jonathan Oosting is a reporter for MLive Media Group's statewide news team. Email him at joosting@mlive.com or follow at twitter.com/jonathanoosting.