CNN Poll: Dems becoming less popular but no gains for GOP

Maybe this is because the republicans are just as culpable as the
dems. A lot of us former republicans that put principle over party.
People wanted change in 2008. They didn't get a change in direction,
just in speed.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/10/cnn-poll-dems-becoming-less-popular-but-no-gains-for-gop/

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A new national poll indicates that the Democratic
party's becoming less popular with voters. But the CNN/Opinion
Research Corporation survey, released Monday, suggests that the
Republican party has not been able to capitalize on the Democrats'
downturn.

Read: CNN's new poll

Fifty-two percent of people questioned say they have a favorable
opinion of the Democratic party, down six points from February.
Forty-one percent say they have a positive view of the Republican
party, up just two points from February. "Most Americans still have a
favorable view of the Democrats; half have an unfavorable view of the
GOP," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

According to the survey, 44 percent say the country would be better
off if the Democrats control Congress, with 34 percent saying it's
better if the Republicans controlled Congress.

"By a ten-point margin, Americans say that the country would be better
off if the Democrats controlled Congress. That's down from a 15-point
advantage in April, but it is very important to note that the change
has not helped the Republicans at all," says Holland.

The poll's release comes as lawmakers from Congress are holding town
halls on health care reform. What Senators and Representatives do or
don't do this year when it comes to health care could impact next
year's Congressional elections, when all 435 seats in the House and
more than a third of the Senate are up for grabs.

"What happens in the 2010 midterm elections will ultimately be
determined by events that happen in 2010," Holland says. "But this
year's debate over health care is laying the groundwork for next
year's actions. With the debate already so intense on this issue,
voters are unlikely to forget what happens in the next few months."

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted July 31-August
3, with 1,136 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's
sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for the
overall sample.