TIMES O.C. POLL : Voters Sour on Congress, Don’t Know Members

Most Orange County voters do not like the way the nation’s business is being handled in Washington. But if they wanted to write to their congressman to complain, they would not know where to send it because most don’t know who their congressman is.

The six members of the Orange County congressional delegation--all Republicans--are as invisible as Halloween ghosts, according to a recent Times Orange County Poll.

When asked to name any of the local congressmen, the poll found, almost two out of three draw a blank--they cannot name any of the county’s delegation--zip, zero, nada.

None of the 600 voters questioned for the survey could name all six.

And only 5% of voters feel the local delegation has “a lot of influence,” though 48% said they had “some” influence.

Signaling their frustration with Washington politics, Orange County voters equally blamed Republicans, Democrats and President Clinton for gridlock at the federal level. Local voters also are more likely than voters across the country to demand “new people in Washington, even if they are not as effective as experienced politicians,” according to the poll.

Like their counterparts across the nation, who were polled earlier this year for the 1994 Times Mirror Survey, 52% of the Orange County voters said they want a third major political party in the country.

The poll, a random telephone survey, was conducted Oct. 22-25 by Mark Baldassare and Associates.

Orange homemaker Patricia James, 52, shares the anger expressed by most local voters. She doesn’t know who her congressman is--not that it matters, she said, because he probably does not have much political clout.

James also thinks congressmen do not listen to the voters at home, and is “sickened” by the partisan bickering between both major political parties that keeps anything from being accomplished. Although she is a Democrat who sometimes votes Republican, she is ready for a third political party.

“They fight each other so much that they don’t even think of the people,” James said. “They just (vote) their way.”

Overall, the job approval rating of the Orange County delegation has dropped eight points since four years ago, when a similar poll was conducted. When asked to rate how well local congressmen are representing the interests of local residents, only one-third said the delegation is doing an “excellent” or “good” job.

Baldassare said the drop had “less to do with the overall performance rating of the delegation and more with the general national trends and a sense of dissatisfaction with the government in Washington.”

Three-fourths of Orange County voters said, for example, that government operations are usually inefficient and wasteful--just seven points higher than voters nationwide. And two-thirds said that government regulation of business “usually does more harm than good”--similar to what voters said nationwide.

As one who would rather have government do too little than too much, Lake Forest resident John Donahue, 21, said he does not mind the stalemate in Washington.

“I kind of like gridlock because a lot of things (congressmen) do would cost more money,” Donahue said.

He is among those who does not know much about his congressman and may not vote in that race on Nov. 8. But if he does, it will probably be for whoever is the Republican.

Some voters guessed wrong when they were asked to give the names of anyone in the local congressional delegation.

One voter offered the name of possible Republican presidential hopeful Jack F. Kemp, the former Republican Cabinet secretary who once represented a congressional district in New York state, not Orange County.

Others drew on familiar names. Donahue, for example, thought his congressional representative was Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, while others named former Orange County Republican Rep. William Dannemeyer of Fullerton or Dan Lungren, who has been serving as state attorney general for the past four years.

“The fact that they cannot name an (Orange County) congressman means that there’s a serious disconnect between what’s going on at home and what’s going on in Washington,” Baldassare said.

So which current congressmen has the highest visibility?

Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove). Twenty percent of voters were able to come up with his name unaided. His much-talked-about late-night appearances on C-SPAN and the Rush Limbaugh radio talk show have probably done more for his visibility than all the newsletters he has mailed to voters in his central Orange County district.

In addition to voters being able to come up with Dornan’s name unaided, he is the only congressman in the county about whom more than half the voters have an opinion. Some 27% of voters gave Dornan a favorable rating, while 26% said they have an unfavorable view of the Garden Grove Republican.

Among the other members of the local delegation, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) was mentioned unaided by 14% of the voters, followed by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), whose name came up 11% of the time.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) was named unaided by 4% of the voters, while 2% mentioned Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad), and 1% identified Rep. Jay C. Kim (R-Diamond Bar). Packard’s and Kim’s districts extend into other counties.

Compared to a similar poll four years ago, the proportions of those who hold a “favorable” opinion of Dornan (27%) and Packard (15%) have each decreased by five points, while those with a favorable view of Cox (29%) and Rohrabacher (22%) have each increased by six points. There is no similar comparison for Kim and Royce because they were not in office in 1990.

Given that the Republican incumbent congressmen are expected to win reelection in conservative Orange County, the lack of name recognition means voters do not place a lot of importance on their representatives, Baldassare said.

“There’s a sense that these are not important politicians in most people’s lives,” Baldassare said. “There’s not a huge thought process that people are going to go through on Nov. 8 about who to send back to Congress.”

Among the other findings contained in the poll and comparisons with the 1994 Times Mirror national survey:

* Orange County voters are less likely than voters across the country to agree that government “should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep.” Only 43% of local voters “completely” or “mostly” agreed with that statement, compared to 59% nationwide.

* When it comes to protecting the environment, Orange County voters said more regulations are needed, with 73% supporting stricter environmental protection laws--nine points lower than the nationwide figures.

* Similarly to the rest of the country, two-thirds of the voters believe the federal government “controls too much of our daily lives,” and four out of five agreed that elected officials in the nation’s Capitol “lose touch with people pretty quickly.” However, 45% said they “mostly” or “completely” agreed when asked if all elected officials--not just federal government--care what people like themselves think. That rating was 12 points higher than the national figure. Also, 41% of the local voters surveyed agreed that the government is run for the benefit of everyone.

* Nearly half of the local voters--45%--believe the push for equal rights has “gone too far.” This result is also similar to that of the national poll.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare and Associates. The telephone survey of 600 Orange County registered voters was conducted Oct. 22-25 on weekday nights and weekend days. A computer-generated random sample of telephone numbers was used. Once a household was reached, we asked to speak with a registered voter. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level. That means it is 95% certain the results are within 4 percentage points of what they would be if every registered voter in Orange County were interviewed. The margin of error would be larger for subgroups, such as likely voters (plus or minus 5%).

Note: Results might not add up to 100% because of rounding.

Dornan Is Delegation’s Lightning Rod

Just one voter in three can name any of the six congressmen serving Orange County. And among those who can, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) is mentioned most often, by 20%. Dornan is also the only one about whom more than half have an opinion. Who’s to blame for gridlock in Washington? The fault is apportioned about equally among the President and the Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

When you think of Orange County’s representatives in the U.S. Congress, what names come to mind?

(among those making correct mentions) Robert K. Dornan: 20% Christopher Cox: 14% Dana Rohrabacher: 11% Ed Royce: 4% Ron Packard: 2% Jay C. Kim: 1% ***

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of each of these U.S. congressmen from Orange County?

Favorable Unfavorable Don’t know Dornan 27% 26% 47% Cox 29% 7% 64% Rohrabacher 22% 11% 67% Royce 17% 7% 76% Packard 15% 7% 78% Kim 9% 5% 86%

***

Who would you say is most responsible for things not getting done in Washingtonthese days?

Orange O.C. O.C. U.S.* County Democrats Republicans Clinton Administration 16% 24% 12% 32% Republicans in Congress 30% 20% 40% 9% Democrats in Congress 17% 20% 5% 29% News media 12% 8% 11% 5% Other 16% 15% 15% 16% Don’t know 9% 13% 17% 9%

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Issue Comparisons

Orange County adults are more conservative than voters nationwide when deciding whether the government should be the provider of last resort. They are very much in line with the rest of the country, though, on the need for more stringent environmental laws.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements: The government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep.

Orange O.C. O.C. U.S.* County Democrats Republicans Completely agree 27% 18% 30% 12% Mostly agree 32% 25% 28% 22% Mostly disagree 25% 29% 27% 31% Completely disagree 14% 25% 11% 33% Don’t know 2% 3% 4% 2%

***

Stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment are needed.

Orange O.C. O.C. U.S.* County Democrats Republicans Completely agree 46% 40% 55% 30% Mostly agree 36% 33% 29% 36% Mostly disagree 13% 17% 9% 21% Completely disagree 4% 8% 5% 10% Don’t know 1% 2% 2% 3%

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Political Philosophy

Orange County is somewhat more conservative than the nation as a whole in its political views, with age playing an important role.

In general, would you describe your political views as:

Orange O.C. O.C. U.S.* County Democrats Republicans Very conservative 7% 10% 3% 14% Conservative 32% 36% 13% 51% Moderate 39% 36% 47% 28% Liberal 15% 13% 27% 5% Very liberal 4% 3% 8% 1% Don’t know 3% 2% 2% 1%

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By age group: 18-34 35-54 55 and older Conservative 38% 45% 56% Moderate 40% 34% 34% Liberal 19% 19% 8% Don’t know 3% 2% 2%

* 1994 Times Mirror typology survey

Source: Times Orange County Poll