Irate Voters Ready to Throw the Bums Out

The American people want to see some heads roll in Congress, with new polls out today showing that the shutdown has drastically soured voters on just about everyone. Just 4% of respondents said the country would be worse off if every single congressman were replaced in the 2014 elections, while 47% said it would be better off, according to a new USA Today/Princeton poll. Numbers that high generally foretell "wave" elections in which control of the House switches; in 1994, it was 40%, and in 2006 it was 42%.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll, meanwhile, finds that 75% aren't happy with how the political system is working—which is unsurprising, given that 81% disapproved of the shutdown. Both polls show Republicans taking most of the blame for the shutdown, and in the Post poll 63% had an unfavorable view of the party. But Democrats didn't exactly come away smelling like roses, either; more than 60% disapproved of their handling of the negotiations, and a record 49% had an unfavorable view of the party. (More poll numbers stories.)