Congress’ Poll Numbers as Bad as Bush’s
After being given the majority the Democrats need to earn the voters’ trust by governing in a responsible manner. They have to contrast a Democratic Congress with a Republican one they claimed was ineffective.
So far, the public rates Congress as highly as President Bush:
The survey found only 35 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, down 5 percentage points in a month. That gives lawmakers the same bleak approval rating as Bush, who has been mired at about that level since last fall, including his dip to a record low for the AP-Ipsos poll of 32 percent last January.
The divide between Bush and Congress on Iraq has sucked up all the political energy. Few other things are getting done. But it is a liberal Democratic Congress. Not getting bills passed isn’t a bad thing.
The time could soon be ripe for a populist third party candidate. That person would have to be charismatic like Ross Perot but without the nuttiness. New York mayor Mike Bloomberg wouldn’t cut it.
Sen. John McCain at one point was in a position to go third party. He distanced himself far from President Bush. The press adored his “maverick” label. A grand union with Sen. Joe Lieberman would have gotten people talking as much as people are talking about Fred Thompson. But McCain wants the Republican nomination, and he’s gunning for core conservative support.
There’s a vacuum in the body politic waiting to be filled. A vast number of voters want a fresh voice. The opportunity is there.
“Poll: Congress’ Approval Same As Bush”
We had a little debate about this a few weeks ago which I guess you missed. If you look closer at the more detailed numbers, you see that the Democratic parts of congress actually get really high approval ratings, like they always do. It’s the Republican side of congress that, as always, drags the whole thing down.
The American people understand that with only a one-vote majority and an antagonistic president, there’s not exactly a whole lot congressional Democrats can do except investigate. (Luckily, the polls show that’s exactly what people want.) The reason that Congress’s approval ratings as a whole are so low is because people are fed up with the obstructionist agenda of Bush and Republicans.
And the numbers prove it. Not a story you’ll hear from the media, of course, which is too busy promoting the false narrative of “everything that happens is bad for Democrats.”