WaPo/ABC Poll: GOP Disapproval Growing

April's anticipated Washington Post/ABC News poll reveals a number of concerning trends for Republicans in Congress, the foremost of which is an 8 percent increase in the party's disapproval rating since February.

Although Democrats too witnessed a slight decrease in overall voter approval, House and Senate Republicans especially took big hits in measures of party popularity, voter confidence and political effectiveness.

The news could not come at a worse time for the embattled GOP. Reflecting at its own 100-day mark, the party that had previously boasted itself as an effective counterweight to Democratic dominance is currently embroiled in an identity crisis – one that has consequently branded Republican leaders as unorganized obstructionists.

Most notably, nearly a quarter of poll respondents who felt the Obama administration had not accomplished enough during its first 100 days blame the Republican Party for the slowdown. Although Republicans are likely to attribute this recalcitrance to the Democrats' allegedly irresponsible expedience, the public has apparently interpreted the party's behavior much differently. On the economy, for instance, only 24 percent of surveyed voters said they "trusted" the GOP to do a better job handling the crisis. Even fewer expressed confidence in the party's ability to "make the right decisions for the country's future."

The numbers, of course, foretell the many difficulties certain to trouble the Republican Party over the next two years. Previous polls have associated the GOP with an ineffectiveness at politicking, a process perennially important to any congressional minority. This poll, however, paints GOP partisans as further handicapped at policy making, despite their insistence otherwise. Even if that perception is actually a half truth, Democrats are sure to be rejoicing at WaPo/ABC's revelations; the party's attempts to label Republicans wholesale as "the Party of No" seem to be resonating among some voters, perhaps permitting President Obama some additional political capital at a crucial point in his presidency.