Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters say a group of people randomly selected from the phone book would do a better job than the current Congress. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that an identical number (42%) disagree, but 16% are not sure.

Last fall, just 33% thought the random group could do as good a job.

Today, Republicans by a two-to-one margin believe that the phone book sample would be better than the current Democratic-controlled Congress. Democrats, by a similar margin, have the opposite view. A slight plurality of those not affiliated with either major party say the randomly selected group would do a better job.

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Polling released earlier today showed that most Republican voters believe that their representatives in Congress are out of touch with GOP voters.

If they could vote to keep or reject the entire Congress, most Americans would vote to get rid of all the legislators and start all over again. Additionally, just 29% are even somewhat confident that Congress knows what it’s doing when it comes to the economy.

Despite these reviews, more than 90% of Congress routinely get reelected every two years. One explanation for this phenomenon frequently heard in Washington, D.C. is that “people hate Congress but love their own congressman.” But, 50% of voters say 'rigged' election rules explain high reelection rates for Congress.

Interestingly, though, when it comes to their own representative in Congress, just 44% of voters say he or she is about the same as them ideologically.

Other recent polling found that just 22% believe Congress has a good understanding of the health care reform legislation currently being considered. Voters tend to think that they understand the legislation better than Congress and about as well as President Obama.

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