Nearly half (49%) the nation’s voters say politics in Washington, D.C. will be more partisan over the next year. That’s up nine points from a month ago and fifteen points from early January.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 32% expect more cooperation between the two sides over the coming year. That’s down from 48% in January.

There has been a much smaller shift in perceptions of President Obama’s governing style. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say he is governing on a bipartisan basis, down from 42% a month ago. The number who believe he is governing as a partisan Democrat has gone up four points to 43%.

But more voters think that members of Congress from both political parties are more partisan than Obama. Fifty percent (50%) of voters say congressional Republicans are acting in a partisan manner. Sixty percent (60%) say that congressional Democrats are behaving as partisans.

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Republicans are closely divided over whether their representatives in Congress are governing in a partisan or bipartisan fashion. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Democrats and 54% of unaffiliated voters, however, see the GOP legislators as acting like partisan Republicans.

Interestingly, however, a majority of all three groups agree that congressional Democrats are governing in a partisan fashion. Understandably, more Republicans (76%) and unaffiliateds (57%) feel that way than Democrats (51%), though.

Voters are evenly divided over a statement made by the Republican House leader John Boehner—"Republicans want to be partners with the president in finding responsible solutions to the challenges facing our nation, but thus far congressional leaders in the president's own party have stood in the way." Forty-three percent (43%) agree with Boehner, and 44% disagree. Not surprisingly, 77% of Republicans see Democrats standing in the way while 64% of Democrats disagree (see crosstabs).

The increased partisanship can be seen in the president's job approval ratings as well. A majority of Republicans now Strongly Disapprove of Obama’s performance while nearly three-out-of-four Democrats Strongly Approve. Overall, Obama continues to rack up high approval ratings in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Even on the question of whether there will be more partisanship, there is a partisan divide.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of GOP voters and 54% of unaffiliated voters expect politics in Washington to be more partisan over the next year. The plurality of Democrats (46%) believes there will be more cooperation, but 32% disagree.

The debate over the proposed stimulus package certainly heightened the feelings of partisanship. In the earliest days of this year, the Obama team talked of passing the package with 80 votes in the Senate, including roughly half the Republicans. In the end, just three Republicans supported the plan in the Senate, and none were supportive in the House. As debate was taking place on Capitol Hill, 60% of U.S. voters said the stimulus plan was mostly what Democrats wanted rather than a truly bipartisan product.

Now, most Democrats believe the stimulus plan will help the economy while most Republicans believe it will hurt.

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