#DearCongress report card

Ahead of the midterm elections, we asked what one thing -- an issue, a law, a policy -- you wanted from Congress.

More than 1,000 #DearCongress responses flooded in over e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, and we broke down the 10 things you said you wanted most from our elected leaders.

More than any other answer, most respondents, or 13 percent, demanded money out of politics. 

Some wanted comprehensive campaign finance reform, while others wanted Congress to repeal the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which upended years of hard-fought campaign finance reform laws overnight. (To overturn it, two-thirds of Congress, and then three-fourths of states, would have to approve a constitutional amendment.)

Whatever the method, many respondents saw getting money out of the political system as a first step to making Congress more responsive to the issues they care about.

A close second, 12 percent of respondents simply wanted Congress to compromise and get things done. 

Message after message lambasted elected leaders for failing to work together. 

In 1973, when Gallup first asked Americans the question, 42 percent said they had "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress. Today, that number is just 7 percent, an all-time low, according to the latest poll.

Americans’ have lost faith in the legislative branch, and its lack of productivity is a large part of that.

Beyond a failure to get things done, respondents also took issue with who exactly Congressional leaders are serving. 

Six percent of respondents felt Congress only works to help a select few of wealthy corporations and special interests, largely at the expense of the constituents they are supposed to represent. 

Another 6 percent demanded that Congress make education -- higher education, in particular -- more affordable. Some asked for student loan debt relief, while others wanted even more: free college education for everyone.

Yes, Congressional leaders already have term limits -- six-year limits for Senators and two for members of the House -- but they are unlimited. After serving a term, a Congressional leader can run again and again, with no limit to the number of terms they serve if they win.

About 5 percent of respondents wanted to change that by enacting career politician term limits, or how long a politician can, well, be a politician.

"Resign."

"Retire."

"Give me your job."

Five percent of respondents were fed up enough that they wanted a whole new Congress. Some of them were even willing to do the job themselves.

About 3 percent of respondents said they wanted Congress to stop supporting Israeli policies, whether through foriegn aid or other support.

And 2.5 percent of respondents asked Congress to make the minimum wage a living wage. Some even suggested members of the House and Senate should themselves be subject to the federal minimum wage, just so they really know what so many Americans face.

From different sides of the aisle, about 2 percent of respondents said they wanted Congress to take action on immigration issues. For some, that meant a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. For others, it meant a more secure border.

Lastly, 1.8 percent of respondents asked Congress to curtail military spending and stop fighting "worthless wars." That said, at least three respondents asked Congress to "wipe out ISIS" in Iraq and Syria.

See more responses below, and tell us your own in the comments, or over Twitter using the hashtag #DearCongress.