So we've gone from around 1 in 5 thinking the government is legitimate to almost 1 in 3 thinking that. Almost 1 in 3! That's a pretty massive improvement. Not only that but
"Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters now think a group of people selected at random from the phone book could do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress..."By contrast, in 2008, almost half the people thought that a random selection out of the phone book would do better than congress. It almost seems like people are thinking congress has gotten more competent. Or they think less of their fellow phone book inhabitants.
Nope, if the approval rating for congress has fallen from 13% to 10%, it must be they think the folks in the phone book are worse.
"When the last session of Congress closed its doors in December, just 13% of voters rated its performance as good or excellent, consistent with its ratings for much of the two years it was in existence. That number had fallen to 10% less than a month after the new session of Congress began."
It's not all sunshine, lollipops and roses, though.
" 71% of those in the Political Class believe the federal government has the consent of the governed"which is a virtually exactly the opposite of what the people who elected them think. And 67% of the public think this is not news:
I wonder if the change is due to some people imagining that the new members of the House and the Senate are going to turn things around? You know- the folks that haven't noticed that all but three of the freshman Congressmen voted to extend the Patriot Act, and are letting the momentum to repeal Obamacare slip away. The same folks who are not aggressively attacking the budget and rolling back spending levels to what they need to be.
ReplyDeleteIt's as if people got fired up long enough to "send a message" to the government, but then fell back asleep in front of their TV sets. Yet, they cling to the notion that government - somehow - has gotten better. Wishful thinking.
Thankfully, a few governors who are trying to do the right thing, like in Wisconsin and here in Montana. Governors who are fighting the unions and defying the Federal government. http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_7d25caf6-3a20-11e0-a8ef-001cc4c002e0.html
I was going to suggest the same thing as @Reg T. Perhaps people are starting to feel like things are less out-of-control than before? Maybe...
ReplyDeleteWait until gas gets back to $4 or more a gallon. Those numbers will head south faster than Yankees in winter.
ReplyDeleteI think Reg nailed it, too. I think most people feel better with divided government and gridlock. The less laws those clowns can pass, the better for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI know I feel better with a slow, inefficient government. Few things concern me as much as "bipartisanship" or "both sides working together." The more they fight each other, the less damage they can do to us. The less damage they can do to us, the better off we are. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of swapping the majority party every few years we could just overhaul the entire thing every once in a while?
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