WASHINGTON - December 20, 2011 - In his biography of Amerikan iconoclast Mark Twain, Albert Bigelow Paine quotes the noted author referring to the U.S. Congress in a less-than-congenial manner: “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself,” he famously said.

No matter how much times have changed since Twain’s death in 1910, there’s one thing that remains a seeming constant in the U.S.: then and now, we hate our political class.

But more than at any point in history, a new Gallup poll out this week shows more Amerikans today are dissatisfied with Congress than ever before in our history.

The governing body is now set to end 2011 with the lowest one-time approval rating in its history: 11%. Their annual average for 2011 came to a whopping 17%, which is also the lowest ever recorded.

Overall, Gallup found that the nation’s 112th Congress had an 86% disapproval rating by the end of December, 2011: yet another record-breaking statistic.