The ongoing fight over taxes and spending is clearly being won by President Obama and the Democrats, with congressional Republicans sinking in polls for a second week.

Rasmussen Reports revealed Monday that Democrats on the generic congressional ballot now have their largest lead since August 2008, partly because of the president's election and "fiscal cliff" fight, and partly because GOP voters are demoralized.

In the new poll, Rasmussen said 46% of likely voters would choose the Democrat in their district's congressional race if the election were held today, while 36 percent would pick the Republican instead. "This is the fifth week in a row that the Democrats have led on the generic ballot. Last week, they were ahead by 11 points - 47 percent to 36 percent - their largest lead since late August 2008," said the pollster.

Sign Up for the Paul Bedard newsletter!

Please enter your email address below to begin receiving the Paul Bedard newsletter.

You must enter a valid email address in the field above!

Thank you for signing up for the Paul Bedard newsletter! You should receive your first newsletter very soon.

We're sorry, there was an error processing your newsletter signup. Please click here to visit our Newsletter Signup Center to register for this newsletter.

At 36 percent, it ties the GOP's lowest level of support since January 2009. Meanwhile, Obama's approval rating has soared to 55 percent, said Rasmussen.

It is a big reversal since Election Day. During the election the two sides were nearly evenly matched, but congressional Democrats have been on the upswing since the election.

A GOP analyst told Secrets that "pessimism among GOP and unaffiliated voters is sky high."