Approval of Congress lowest in a decade

Source: LA Times

Fueled by disappointment at the pace of change since Democrats assumed the majority on Capitol Hill, public approval of Congress has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

Just 27% of Americans now approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the poll found, down from 36% in January, when Democrats assumed control of the House and the Senate.

And 63% of Americans say that the new Democratic Congress is governing in a "business as usual" manner, rather than working to bring the fundamental change that party leaders promised after November's midterm election.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the first woman to hold that position, has also failed to impress many Americans. Only 36% approve of the way she is handling the job, the poll found.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-pelosi12jun12,0,7184922.story?coll=la-home-center

Approval of the Hastert-Lott Congress was higher?

This is Bushevik spin, undoubtedly the approval of this Imperial Congress and the last Imperial Congress are roughly equivalent, but you know how Corproate TV Pravda and the Bushevik Party Sub-Media are.

However, in this case out Congress has earned their low approval. I suppose in a way they are better than the Bushevik Imperial Congress that came before, but in matters of the Rule of Law, no matter what the gyrations or the crap they expose, their actions to bring these criminals to bay are the same.

NOTHING.

Fitzgerald didn't prosecute the Libby evidence further BECAUSE THAT'S CONGRESS' JOB.

I am trying to be patient, but the signs are not good.

Why even attempt to stop war funding and fail and look bad when they can literally do nothing and fail with far less effort?

We need new visionaries and instead we have the three blind mice.

It makes me sick.

They will pretend to be BSU at the fiesta bowl. You remember?

rather than the knock outs to win the fight. Be patient, but a good knock out round would certainly help their prestige.

They are foregoing the Rule of Law in order to win the 2008 elections big and provide themselves with majorities (and the White House) with which to more easily get things done.

But the Amerikan voting system is corrupt and rigged, with at least a 3-5% "thumb on the scale before the first vote has been counted.

The Bushevik Party Sub-Media still largely control the National Dialgue (see: Rosie, Edwards' haircut & speaking fees, etc.).

And the base which put them into power by busting our asses and bankrolls is increasingly looking at them as the "fighter who takes a dive" after putting on a false front.

It is a dangerous gamble to substitute the Rule of Law for a vote in 16 months with a questionable outcome.

It looks even more cowardly and craven considering the Busheviks did the same thing to Clinton, ignoring that they didn't have the votes nor that the country was 2/3rds against them.

the "Democratically controlled Congress" actually CONTROLLED Congress. The slim majority in the House can't seem to get anything past the Senate where THERE IS NO DEMOCRATIC CONTROL. With LIEberman sitting on the laps of the RepubliCONS on most issues there IS NO Democratic majority. Americans seem to think that Democrats have a solid majority. I wonder where they got THAT idea? :eyes: The fact of the matter is that if Americans want a TRUE Democratic majority then they have to vote for Democrats in the next election cycle. Turn Holy Joe into an non-entity with NO power whatsoever.

I agree to a point that the Democrats have been less than impressive so far, BUT, if the had a TRUE majority I imagine things would be different. At least I would hope so. Right now there is little Congressional Democrats can do when the lock-step RepubliCONS (and Holy Joe) stand firmly behind the Chimpenfuhrer. In my opinion it's still the RepubliCONS that should bear the brunt of criticism.

It would be one thing if they had votes on important binding resolutions and failed. At least they would have tried. People would then understand your point and be able to see who voted how. But to just sit back and whine about the votes not being there before the fact is not what I would call impressive. Nothing ventured, nothing gained

that it's said they co-sponsored...it doesn't look good.

to continue the boxing metaphor...(or is it an analogy?)

come off the ropes at some time and start hitting back... and hard.

Otherwise, you just get the crap beat out of you.

They are far more sour on Bush and his rubber stampers than they are on the dems who've only been in for 5 months.

What has Bush* asked for that Democrats did not pass? The Immigration Bill is being blocked by Republicans, not Democrats..

I can't think of another thing that Il Douche has asked for that he hasn't gotten, one way or another.

finally figure out that the American public will follow if they just show the strength to lead?

The repukes have dished out everything from torture to wiretapping to illegal wars but because they sell these abortions(no pun intended) to the public with at least the facade of conviction in their beliefs, the public follows.

Our guys can't even stand up to a president polling in the 30's and a Republican party racked by scandal and failure.

Just fucking amazing, we are witnessing a democratic party that has been handed a generational political shift on a silver platter squander it by first allowing themselves to be co-opted by the same corporate powers who control the Rs and second by an absolute failure to fight for their convictions.

Fuckety-fuck-fuck.

Give them a break. You want to help, come down on the republicans for their continued rubber stamping of Bush and his policies and appointees.

Remeber Tom Dashalle? The Democrats haven't stood up to the republicans for years

This didn't happen overnight. Looking back at the IWR and the patriot act, only a few had profiles in courage.

As far as coming down on the republicans, you have no argument with me their, but look at their actions, when Jimmy Carter called this administration out, it took only 24 hours for him to retract his words, and he isn't the only Democrat who has appologized for speaking the truth about this administration.

When was the last time the administration appologized for any of their lies.

The Democrats talk tough, bring up that they will no longer give this administration a blank check, then are unable to get a consensus among Democrats.

We have an attorney general who lied under oath, and was involved with witness tampering, and the best they can do is submit a vote of no confidence. If gonzales committed a crime, which according to the goodling testamony he did, why not call for a special prosecuter or impeach him. What message does that give.

Don't get me wrong, I will still vote for Democratic in 2008, but I am less than thrilled

> The Democrats haven't stood up to the republicans for years

IWR, P.A.T.R.I.O.T. act, anthrax attack, election 2000, election 2004, ...

> When was the last time the administration apologized for any of their lies.

For that matter, when was the last time they were asked to?
It wouldn't have been by the current occupants of either house.

> We have an attorney general who lied under oath, and was involved with
> witness tampering, and the best they can do is submit a vote of no
> confidence.

They like their cushy jobs, income, parties, expenses, hand-pressing,
photo-ops, "favours", retirement directorships and outright bribes.
Do you really think anyone is going to rock the boat?

Paul Wellstone put up a fight until

These fuckers are doing NOTHING.

We have a mafia running the country and we need Eliot Ness, not fucking Barney Fife!

While the House has presented some good agenda items, our slim majority in the Senate has been unable to follow up. I'm somewhat disappointed, too. And, I'm realistic.

We need a bigger majority to move the agenda.

(aside) Congress has never been a popular arm of the federal government. 'Throw the bums out' has been a standard response from the electorate for years and years.

And they failed at exerting the very power they could exert that is forcing Bush to sign an Iraq bill that placed restrictions on his power, instead they caved and let Bush continue this bullshit war on his terms simultaneously giving a weaklened President a win while showing 60% of the country that they weren't ready to "go to the mattresses" over something they allegedly believed in.

Or the short term picture.

I know it's become a tired mantra to many, but September, imho, has been set in the publics mind as some sort of reckoning in regards to the Iraq occupation.

Everyone refers to it now, across the spectrum. That's one clear step.

Does it mean the occupation will end Oct. 1st? I doubt it. Does it mean it will end? I think so.

The funding bill we rail about means little in the short term. The Pentagon has always had the money to continue operations through this fiscal year. Those funds were already in place.

I favored cutting the funding in the 'emergency supplemental', as I favor cutting the funding for continuing the occupation in the up front defense budget for subsequent federal fiscal years.

I favor withdrawal, as best as we can manage it, as soon as we can manage it.

Yet I realize we don't have the votes to force Mr. Bush to do anything. We do have the forum to keep the issue on the table and forge some incremental change.

Frustrating but true.

Outright cut funding or force Bush to agree to it's proposed bill, all that was missing was the conviction to to stand pat and force Bush to choose between an end to the war or a continuation with strings attached.

on their side. No bill: no signature. End of the illegal occupation 60%+ of "We The People" wanted (and still do) in the coming weeks.

But no. Screw that 60%+ (US).

and less

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 12 Jun 2007 at 04:36:22 AM GMT is:
$ 8 , 8 4 9 , 5 8 5 , 5 1 5 , 2 1 9 . 0 8

The estimated population of the United States is 302,134,699
so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,290.20.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$1.34 billion per day since September 29, 2006

(as opposed to: more)

As demonstrated with the cloture vote of no confidence today, the Dems in the Senate won't be able to pass anything unless most Repukes agree to play along.

Expect two years of mostly gridlock in Congress. Compared to the how things were ran in the past six years, this is a vast improvement.

What a shock. :eyes:

with a sign that says, "Voting Republican is Complicity In War Crimes."

Now, I don't see the point.

Voting for the current batch of Democrats is now ALSO complicity in War Crimes.

Perhaps, instead I need a sign that says, "Support Stem Cell Research so Democrats Can Grow Themselves Some Balls and Republicans Can Grow Themselves Some Hearts."

They are so corrupt and supporting Iraq and this whole business of Gonzales ...shows they are purposely inept and neglicence
They are not fooling anybody...

I'm watching America just go the way of British and Roman Empire

It may keep you on the Christmas party list, and it may keep you on the Georgetown cocktail party circuit, but it will have consequences with regular people.

to pay the bill of all parties, plus interests.

The very last chance to (just try to...) redeem themselves will be sometimes in September...

And that is, IF the PNAC gangsters haven't started the Mother Of All Worldwide Economic Depression by illegally bombing Iran (and the Iranian retaliation is successful), because we'll all be dead by then...

sweets and flowers to the courageous Democratic congress which has stood up to Bush time and again and NEVER ONCE capitulated or rolled over for him like a lame doggie.
Honestly, do I even need to put :sarcasm: here?

By blocking everything the Democrats want to do, the place is tied up in knots and amounting to zero. They'll hit the campaign with the "do nothing" mantra and the wheel will go 'round again. When will the business of the nation take precedence over the business of the politicians?

not as Republican lite. People want Dems to stick to their policies and not cave in. The public want to see results.

4% better than Bush!

Even with all of the flack.

I mean, even if much of the criticism of the "Dem-controlled Congress" is NOT justified because they don't really control Congress at all in the present balance, still the Bu$h-controlled corporate media DOES guide the public's perception of Dems' lack of courage to challenge Bu$hCo and their failure at what little they have tried to do.

At this rate of (dis)approval, I think all of us are dreaming if we really still believe we'll end up with a Dem in the White House after Election 08!

Might have been better had we NOT won such a slim majority in Congress -- then the people would still be blaming the Republicons for the continued sorry state of everything political in this country, and a Dem President AND truly Dem-controlled Congress would have been a much more likely outcome in 08.

I'm not so sure anymore.
ALL of the "Top Tier" :puke: Democratic candidates have proposed plans that will CONTINUE the WAR!


"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If elected president, Sen. Hillary Clinton said, she would likely keep some U.S. forces in Iraq in a supporting role after 2009 because America has "a remaining military as well as a political mission" that requires a presence there.
However, in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Clinton said the American troops would not play a role in trying to curb sectarian violence.
Rather, they would be positioned north of Baghdad to combat terrorists, support the Kurds, counter any Iranian moves into Iraq and provide logistical, air and training support to the Iraqi government "if the Iraqis ever get their act together."

Obama outlined a plan for maintaining a U.S. presence in Iraq similar to Clinton's.
"Withdrawal would be gradual, and we'd keep some U.S. troops in the region to prevent a wide war, to go after al Qaeda and other terrorists," he said.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/15/clinton.troops/index.html


Does anyone really believe that the US can maintain a military presence in Iraq without continuing the violent Occupation? Both plans (Clinton/Obama) are filled with "weasel words".


FACE IT.
The Democratic Party is addicted to money from the MIC/OIL/AIPAC/Wall St, and WILL DO their owner's bidding.
*More deregulation,
*Lower wages for Workers,
*MORE Free Trade,
*More WAR,
*Fewer Constitutional Rights
*Higher profits for the Owners

All of the TV posturing and rhetoric is just VideoBytes for show.
Say HELLO to MORE WAR in 2008.


Bread & Circuses!


PS: Some in the Democratic Party are for REAL (Dennis Kucinich and a handful of others), but most are hopeless, including ALL of the Democratic Party leadership. No wonder the public is disappointed. We have been given a peek behind the curtain.

we've built a huge "embassy" and plan on making Iraq our base of operations in the region indefinitely . . . and both parties are in agreement on this . . .

We'll re-elect 96%+ of them in 2008. Gives me little hope in people. Bitch and moan about what a shit job the government is doing, then we re-elect almost all of them. A large percentage of these people that we think are doing a poor job will run unopposed, which just makes me want to cry. Dems and Repubs are both repsonsible for re-districting so much that they've practically insured who will win almost every district in the house.

What does it say about the people of a country when they continue to re-elect - over and over again - a congress that only 27% feel is doing a good job?

Nothing good.

Come on, it's not like they haven't tried to pass legislation the has been stalled because Bush and the Republicans. Everyone seems to want to scapegoat Bush by blaming the Democrats and it's becoming ridiculous.

and the only "Democrat" who gets handed a microphone is Joe Lieberman (AIPAC, Ct/Israel) so of course they

I wonder if they're ever going to start cleaning house.

it's past its expiration date

The public isn't interesting in talk, posing or decorative hearings.

They know the party laid down for Bush. Still lays down. Still pays for the war.

End the war, you collaborators.