Survey Says...
As many of you long time readers know, I don't put a lot of stock in polls and polling. I've seen how easy it is for less than honorable or honest pollsters to manipulate the data. That being said, the Gallup Organization is usually fairly straight up in their processes, which makes the results of their latest poll so striking (HT Captain Ed)
"A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll. "
It is Gallup's breakdown of the numbers that I find to be of the most interest.
"Frustration with Congress spans the political spectrum. There are only minor (but not statistically meaningful) differences in the approval ratings Democrats (21%), Republicans (18%), and independents (17%) give to Congress. Typically, partisans view Congress much more positively when their party is in control of the institution, so the fact that Democrats' ratings are not materially better than Republicans' is notable.
The nine-point drop in Congress' job approval rating from last month to this month has come exclusively from Democrats and independents, with Democrats' ratings dropping 11 points (from 32% to 21%) and independents' ratings dropping 13 points (from 30% to 17%). Republicans' 18% approval rating is unchanged from last month."
The Democrats are bleeding support from their own people. That could be as disasterous for them as 2006 was for Republicans.
"The decline in congressional job approval could merely reflect the cessation of any public good will it engendered when the new leadership arrived in January, since the current 18% rating is similar to what it was in December 2006 (21%).
But, it could also reflect disappointment with the new Congress' performance (especially among Democrats) and economic unease.
Americans elected the Democrats as the majority party in Congress in November 2006's midterm election in large part due to frustration with the Iraq war and an ineffective and scandal-plagued Republican-led Congress. But any hopes that the elections would lead to change have not been realized as Democrats' repeated attempts to force a change in Iraq war policy have been largely unsuccessful due to presidential vetoes, disagreements within their own party, and the inability to attract Republican support for their policy proposals. Also, many of the Democratic leadership's domestic agenda items have not become law even though some have passed one or both houses of Congress. "
This Congress has, without a doubt, lived up to the "Do Nothing" label. They have both Houses, they have relatively veto proof majorities, but the have not had the intestinal fortitude to do the one thing that their voters want most...to end the war in Iraq NOW! All Congress needs to do is to with-hold the funding for the war and the troops would have to come home IMMEDIATELY. It's that simple.
What the Congressional leaders know, what they refuse to stand up and tell the voters is that to do what they wish would certainly DOOM the Iraqi people to unspeakable violence and would destablize an already volitile region. That is also very simple. Will ANY Democrat in Congress stand up to the left-roots and say "NO"? I doubt it, but I pray that someday soon I can stand here in this forum and say "I was wrong"!
"A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974. Just 18% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, while 76% disapprove, according to the August 13-16, 2007, Gallup Poll. "
It is Gallup's breakdown of the numbers that I find to be of the most interest.
"Frustration with Congress spans the political spectrum. There are only minor (but not statistically meaningful) differences in the approval ratings Democrats (21%), Republicans (18%), and independents (17%) give to Congress. Typically, partisans view Congress much more positively when their party is in control of the institution, so the fact that Democrats' ratings are not materially better than Republicans' is notable.
The nine-point drop in Congress' job approval rating from last month to this month has come exclusively from Democrats and independents, with Democrats' ratings dropping 11 points (from 32% to 21%) and independents' ratings dropping 13 points (from 30% to 17%). Republicans' 18% approval rating is unchanged from last month."
The Democrats are bleeding support from their own people. That could be as disasterous for them as 2006 was for Republicans.
"The decline in congressional job approval could merely reflect the cessation of any public good will it engendered when the new leadership arrived in January, since the current 18% rating is similar to what it was in December 2006 (21%).
But, it could also reflect disappointment with the new Congress' performance (especially among Democrats) and economic unease.
Americans elected the Democrats as the majority party in Congress in November 2006's midterm election in large part due to frustration with the Iraq war and an ineffective and scandal-plagued Republican-led Congress. But any hopes that the elections would lead to change have not been realized as Democrats' repeated attempts to force a change in Iraq war policy have been largely unsuccessful due to presidential vetoes, disagreements within their own party, and the inability to attract Republican support for their policy proposals. Also, many of the Democratic leadership's domestic agenda items have not become law even though some have passed one or both houses of Congress. "
This Congress has, without a doubt, lived up to the "Do Nothing" label. They have both Houses, they have relatively veto proof majorities, but the have not had the intestinal fortitude to do the one thing that their voters want most...to end the war in Iraq NOW! All Congress needs to do is to with-hold the funding for the war and the troops would have to come home IMMEDIATELY. It's that simple.
What the Congressional leaders know, what they refuse to stand up and tell the voters is that to do what they wish would certainly DOOM the Iraqi people to unspeakable violence and would destablize an already volitile region. That is also very simple. Will ANY Democrat in Congress stand up to the left-roots and say "NO"? I doubt it, but I pray that someday soon I can stand here in this forum and say "I was wrong"!
Labels: Democrats, Iraq, Undermining the War
posted by The Lady Logician at
6:56 AM
3 Comments:
Your ignorance never fails to shine through! You say, " They have both Houses, they have relatively veto proof majorities..."
No, dear. Overriding a veto takes a 2/3 majority. In the Senate, that's 67 votes, and in the House it's 290. Currently in the Senate there are 49 Dems, 49 Repubs, and 2 independents. In the House, there are 233 Dems and 202 Repubs. 49 is less than 67, and 233 is less than 290.
What it does mean, however, is that the Repub minority in the Senate can block (by threatening a filibuster and blocking a cloture vote) forever any legislation. This is something they've been able to do with measures such as those designed to give more rest to our weary troops, allow the government to negotiate for better prices from drug makers for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program, and to pass ethics legislation.
It's been a do-nothing Congress, allright, but you're blaming the wrong side.
By
Anonymous, at 2:10 PM
And your lack of reading comprehension skills are shining through again my anonymous friend. Saying that that have "relatively" veto proof majorities is not the same as saying they have "locked down" veto proof. They to do some work to get it, but if their agenda is all that virtuous, they could and SHOULD be doing the work - and yet they are not?
Let me ask you this, my anonymous name caller, have any of these goals even been introduced in this session? Do you call a bill that allows GREATER special interest access to lawmakers with less accountability ethics reform?
Whose ignorance is shining through now?
By
The Lady Logician, at 4:28 PM
"Let me ask you this, my anonymous name caller, have any of these goals even been introduced in this session?"
Um... Lady? If you bother to read the links, it's easy to tell from the first paragraph that these are all measures from the 110th Congress, taken up by the Senate and blocked by Republicans since January 1 of 2007:
WASHINGTON, July 11,2007 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a proposal to give American troops in Iraq more rest from battle, as Democrats renewed their attempts to change President George W. Bush's Iraq policy.
April 18, 2007 – Republicans in the U.S. Senate this morning successfully blocked consideration of a bill presented by the finance committee that would have allowed the government to negotiate for better prices from drug makers for senior citizens in the Medicare drug program. The Democrats needed 60 votes to get the bill to the floor but the vote was 55-42.
Thursday, January 18, 2007;
Senate Republicans scuttled broad legislation last night to curtail lobbyists' influence and tighten congressional ethics rules, refusing to let the bill pass without a vote on an unrelated measure that would give President Bush virtual line-item-veto power.
These are YOUR elected officials, Lady. And yes, they are exactly the same ones you and your friends were behind when they were the ones insisting on up-or-down votes on items just over a year ago.
By
Anonymous, at 1:32 PM
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