Do Voters Across The Spectrum Really Hate Their Elected Officials? Keith Ellison Threatens Primaries Against Democrats Allied With Banks Against Working Families

A new poll from Marist for McClatchy indicates that conservative mistrust for the Republican Party is very high-- as is progressive mistrust in the Democratic Party. Both party bases are fed up with their representatives in Congress. That's hardly newsworthy, since the two Party Establishments have been relatively successful in painting themselves as the essential lesser of two evils in a simplistic equation for voters.

By a 66-28% margin, U.S. voters disapprove of the job congressional Republicans are doing-- and when you take Democrats and independents out of the sample, approval among Republicans for Republicans goes up to 51-45%, although among self-identified conservatives disapproval is heavier, 53-41%.

American voters disapprove of Democrats by around the same margin, 65-27% and, again, when you take Republicans and independents out of the mix, Democratic approval moves up to 55-33%. Among self-identified liberals, though, Democratic Party electeds are still underwater-- 48-45%.

After the big GOP wins in the midterms last month, only 35% of voters think the changes they will try to accomplish will be positive. Voters are very pessimistic across most issues, including their own family's finances. Main points from the poll:

• Regardless of party, more than six in ten voters, 61%, think the Republicans in Congress will have more influence over the direction of the nation in 2015.  29% believe President Obama will be the driving force, and 2% report neither will be in command.

• When it comes to who voters want to have more influence, 48% prefer the GOP to take the lead while 42% want Obama in charge. Looking at party, while 93% of Republicans want the GOP to have the most impact, 82% of Democrats look to President Obama to take the lead. 47% of independents turn to the GOP for leadership, and 40% put their stock in President Obama.

• While 35% of voters think the Republican-controlled Congress will effect change for the better, a plurality, 40%, doesn’t expect to see any impact at all. One in five, 20%, reports GOP control will be change for the worse.

• Seven in ten voters, 70%, think it is better for government officials to compromise to find solutions than stand on principle. Democrats, 82%, are more likely than Republicans, 59%, to choose to compromise. More than one-third of Republicans, 36%, value principle over compromise compared with 15% of Democrats who have this view.

• Close to two-thirds of Americans, 64%, are pessimistic about the direction of the country. 31% say the nation is on track, and 6% are unsure. Earlier this fall, 61% of residents said the country was going in the wrong direction, and 35% reported it was moving in the right one.

• The job approval rating of congressional Democrats is at its lowest point, 27%, since McClatchy-Marist began reporting this question. The previous low for Democrats was 28% and occurred in November of 2011. In October, 33% of voters approved of how the Democrats were doing their job.

• The job approval rating of the Republicans in Congress, 28%, also falls short in voters’ eyes.  In October, 24% of registered voters approved of how the congressional GOP was doing its job.

• 43% of registered voters nationally approve of the job President Obama is doing in office while 52% disapprove. Obama’s approval rating stood at 46% in October. Mr. Obama’s favorable rating is also upside down. 44% have a favorable impression of him while a majority, 54%, does not. Voters divided on the president’s image, 48% to 49%, respectively, earlier this fall.

• 38% of the national electorate, down from 46% in October, approve of how the president is handling foreign policy. 52% disapprove, and 10% are unsure.

• On his handling of the economy, 41% of voters approve of how the president is tackling the issue. This is unchanged from 41% in McClatchy-Marist’s previous survey. 55% currently disapprove of how President Obama is dealing with the economy.

• More than six in ten registered voters nationally, 61%, want the Republicans in Congress to make changes to the 2010 health care law. This includes 23% who want the law repealed and 38% who favor modifications to the legislation. 34%, though, say the GOP should focus their efforts on other issues. While 53% of Democrats want the GOP to focus on other issues, and 48% of Republicans want to eliminate the law, 38% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans want changes to be made to the law. A plurality of independents, 43%, would like the health care law modified.

• 51% of Americans expect their personal family finances to stay about the same in the coming year. 32% think they will see an improvement, and 17% believe their family’s financial situation will get worse. In October, 54% reported their money matters would be status quo, 30% thought they would get better, and 17% believed they would get worse.

Could there be a better set-up for a Hillary Clinton-Jeb Bush presidential contest in two years? I mean a worse set-up? Wall Street wins no matter what voters do. And America gets screwed... again. And you look down on people who opt out and just don't vote? Or vote for someone like Ralph Nader?

Earlier tonight Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison spoke on a DFA call about the role of economic populism in the Democratic Party. He was eager, he said, to see Elizabeth Warren enter the presidential race-- even if just to make Clinton a better candidate. "Elizabeth Warren is one of the great, bright lights of our time," he said and worried that Hillary Clinton "could just walk into the general [election] without having committed to some important real, real economic populism."

He also warned the Republican wing of the Democratic Party-- the Blue Dogs and New Dems ( what he called "our weak-kneed Democratic friends") that "we’re watching, and if they’re standing with the corporatocracy and the big banks, we’ll find some other people who will stand with the people."