Why do you think that Congress' approval rating is so low?

Question

http://www.pollingreport.com/CongJob.htm
It looks like Congress has only 24% approval rating a couple days ago. Hmmm. Makes you wonder if people are mad because they said that they would fix the "culture of corruption." I don't know. Why is it so low?

doogster, How could the disapproval rating relate to the republicans if they don't have the majority right now?

Josh, could you be any more condescending and illogical?

Answer 1

I think their approval rating is so low, because change takes time and people are impatient. It's not realistic to expect immediate results. It's a process getting a bill passed; you have to have a majority in the House or the Senate; then they have to have a Compromise Committee where members from the House and Senate try to reach an agreement on a bill. Also, the President is going to be hostile towards this Congress. Of course things progressed more rapidly when both houses of Congress were under the President's thumb. Now, if a bill is passed by both the Senate and the House and a compromise is reached, they have to worry about Bush vetoing the bill, which is something the Republican controlled Congress never had to worry about, because they just did exactly what he wanted.

It's got to be frustrating for them; just look at how Bush is threatening and is expected to veto the stem cell bill. He's the one not working with this Congress and the reason that nothing is getting done. However, some people absolutely refuse to blame Bush for anything, so they need to blame the Democrats.

Answer 2

i think of the low approval rankings of Congress and the President only teach that the standard public is disappointed with Washington all at the same time. multiple Republicans desire to declare, properly Bush could be greater known through fact Congress has a decrease score. i do no longer think of it relatively is precise. right here is something to maintain in attitude. After 9/11, President Bush's approval score shot as much as ninety 5%. Congress peaked at fifty 9%. human beings not at all like the assumption of Washington politicians, that's only the image that "Congress" creates in peoples' minds, no count if situations are good or undesirable, all and sundry is customarily cynical with regard to the assumption of Washington politicians. Its plenty much less complicated to have self belief in somebody than the viewed a team of politicians, so because it relatively is why the Presidents' approval score is frequently greater, whoever it relatively is.

Answer 3

Because we are already into "pre-election ops", when all Congress does is quibble, equivocate, quake in their boots and backstab anyone from the opposing Party, whether it's detrimental to the Nation or not.

They think the American people are total idiots politically and, sadly, for the most part they are correct. But they are just a byproduct and a reflection of a "culture of corruption", so how can they "fix it" without resigning? Do you really expect them to tell the Military-Industrial Complex to "keep your money, we're going to do what's right." ?

I have lived long enough to learn that an incumbent politician is usually a corrupt politician, which is why I mostly vote for the "greenhorns" - too dumb to be corrupted(bought out) yet and far less dangerous than a "seasoned"(wealthy AND greedy) political hack.

Answer 4

It's low because of the continued haggling over what to do about Iraq. The populace isn't happy with either the Democrats or the Republicans. I think they're sick of the bipartisan bickering that leaves things exactly as they were six months ago. Most people I talk to are very aware that the Democrats can't do much with the slim majority they hold and that Republicans are obstructing any move forward to change the situation in Iraq, so they blame them both.

Answer 5

Because too many people think Congress should do things Congress constitutionally cannot do. Americans more or less demand Congress to act like the British Parliament, but it is not designed to function in such a way.

Either people need to realize that the Congress does not have the ability to act like a parliamentary regime and change it or they need to accept the proper role of government Congress was designed to be: a deliberative body with specific, but limited powers.

Answer 6

Congress always gets low approval ratings because there is more than one person to dislike.

Question: Do you approve of the job Congress is doing?

Answer: No...That SOB from ____ state is a jerk...Or the Dems stink...Or the GOP stinks...

Thus all Congress gets a bad rating.

The Congress as whole is completely screwed up IMHO. No one willing to stand up, allowing the Executive Office to dictate policy and laws, corporate kickbacks, etc, etc etc

Answer 7

The 24% is the low end of several recent surveys.

See the attached table which provides data from all sorts of sources for the past several years, and you will conclude that it's about the same which it has always been.

It's funny how the conservative-biased media is now suddenly reporting on the congressional approval rating every two seconds, I don't remember them mentioning it when the Repubs were in charge and it was equally low.

Answer 8

Last I checked, Congress wasn't all Dems. They have a 51 to 49% majority. They must be drunk with power with that HUGE margin in Congress! They must be able to pass all sorts of legislation with that HUGE majority!
Were you this pissed about Congress when the last Rep controlled Congress (whose approval rating was about 17%) was doing absolutley nothing - except for trying to pass an Amendment to ban flag burning?!

Because of this split, little is able to get passed - and regardless of your party, soft money, special interests, and lobbyists are a huge problem.

Answer 9

It is normal for that to happen. Check the history of Congresses past. You will see they rarely get a high rating regardless who is in charge.

Answer 10

Because Congress has done nothing. The far our libs are mad at them for not stopping the war on day one. And the Republicans who voted for them see that the talk about ethics reform, spending control, and bipartisan legislation was a lie so they know not to vote again for a democrat.