These are the topline results of a YouGov/Economist survey of 1000 US adults interviewed December 14-16, 2013 on the current Congressional budget deal. The results show that a majority of Americans prefer a member of Congress who compromises rather than sticks to principles absolutely, but almost half think a better deal was possible. The margin of error is 4.2%.
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Do you approve or disapprove of the current budget deal under consideration in Congress this weekend?
Approve strongly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4%
Approve somewhat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28%
Disapprove somewhat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19%
Disapprove strongly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34%
If you had to choose, would you rather have a member of Congress who...
Compromises to get things done. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63%
Sticks to their principles, no matter what. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37%
Which statement comes closest to your opinion aobut the federal budget compromise Congress is considering this weekend?
The benefits of the budget compromise outweigh the costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16%
The costs and benefits of the compromise are about the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22%
The costs of the compromise outweigh the benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36%
Do you think one political party got more out of the budget compromise than the other, or do you think it was about the same for each party?
Democrats got more than Republicans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22%
Both sides came out about the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31%
Republicans got more than Democrats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35%
Do you think this was the best deal possible or do you think it was possible to negotiate a better deal?
Best deal possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16%
Better deal possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37%
Which statement comes closest to your opinion about the budget agreement?
Democrats got too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8%
Democrats gave up too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10%
Republicans got too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
Republicans gave up too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11%
Both sides gave up too much . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3%
Neither side gave up enough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32%
If the election were being held today, would you vote to re-elect the member of Congress who represents your district?
Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
To the best of your knowledge, is your current member of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress a Democrat or a Republican?
Democrat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39%
Republican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21%
Do you think the current Congress has accomplished more or less than Congress usually does at this point in its two-year term?
More than usual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4%
About the same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22%
Less than usual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12%
