A Job Description for Congress
Author: Stephanie Vance
Recent polls show that Americans aren’t at all impressed with our U.S. Congress. Really. I know you’re shocked to hear it, but it’s true. In fact, a recent AP poll shows that 73% of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, while only 22% approve. These are the lowest numbers in decades. Oh, and in case you’re wondering if the question was “leading”, it wasn’t. Here is specifically what people were asked:
“Overall, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way Congress is handling its job?”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there are a lot of ways to misinterpret that question.
So what’s behind all this crankiness? Well, I think a few key factors are coming together in a sort of “perfect storm” for members of Congress. What are they? I’m glad you asked.
Reason #1: Candidates Over Promising
In the 2006 elections, with Democrats eager to take over the House and Senate, there were a whole lot of promises made by candidates about getting the U.S. out of Iraq quickly. If you haven’t noticed, we’re still in Iraq. In fact, most of the increase in disapproval ratings comes from annoyed liberal Democrats who assumed that once Democrats took over Congress, all would be well (from their perspective).
Here’s the thing, though. Frankly, there’s no way in heck that any single member of Congress can have any impact at all on an issue of such national scope
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/a-job-description-for-congress-232833.html
About the Author:
Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru at Advocacy Associates, works with organizations that want to impact public policy through effective advocacy techniques. She offers training and consulting services on getting government to listen and can be found on the web at http://www.advocacyguru.com
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