Congressional Approval Falls to 9%
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Congress, Democrats, PollsFor the first time since Rasmussen began measuring Congressional approval, the rating has hit single digits. Only 9% of Americans now believe Congress is doing a good or excellent job.
Here’s my favorite statistic: while 13% of Democrats give Congress good ratings and 8% of Republicans do, just 3% of unaffiliated/independent voters give Congress a good rating. Three percent!
While Democrats are still likely to pick up seats in November, these numbers should worry them. Despite promising a more responsible Congress, the Dems have changed little since taking power. New groups are getting the back scratches but it’s still the same-old special-interest focus and pork barrel/earmark-laden spending ( albeit without the shockingly overt corruption seen by the Republicans in their last years in power).Substantive legislation is severely lacking.
Part of Congress’ ineffectiveness is due to divided government (not necessarily a bad thing) and tight margins in the Senate which allow Republicans to block many measures. But, it’s telling that the Democrats have expended more energy on raising taxes and bloating spending bills than they have on more pressing matters. If this trend continues for long, the Republicans should be able to regain seats in 2010.
Congress, as an institution, has become mostly petty with individual members more concerned with funneling pork to their district and following their party’s line than they are with responsible government on a national level. While Congress has always been full of opportunists and sycophants, there seems now to be a crippling lack of great leaders who have the will and the ability to tackle the big issues and marshal the energies of their lesser peers.
If Democrats can’t find real leaders within their own coalition, then the nation is likely to keep switching Congressional control back-and-forth until one party finally proves it can assemble a Congress capable of more than passing spending bills.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 and is filed under Congress, Democrats, Polls. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:54 am
“…it’s still the same-old special-interest focus and pork barrel/earmark-laden spending (albeit without the shockingly overt corruption seen by the Republicans in their last years in power).” - ASC
C’mon Alan - give them time! It took six years for the Republicans to build up that level of corruption. After two-four years with an accommodating Democratic President, and the Republican opposition and oversight reduced to an impotent peanut gallery in the legislature, I have confidence that our elected representative will once again live up to and exceed the standards of George Washington Plunkitt “I seen my opportunities, and I took ‘em.”
July 9th, 2008 at 9:42 am
It’s a race to the bottom, and the new Deomcratic Congress has managed to soundly trounce the White House….
July 9th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
and sure enough, folks will wait in line this November to re-elect the same two entrenched corrupt parties. may the evil of two lessers prevail!
July 11th, 2008 at 7:41 am
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